Maid Service
by SoraxKairi7
Summary: Kairi and Namine get the job offer of a lifetime-working as maids in the Bishonen Mansion! With Sephiroth as head 'Chief' and tons of hot guys at their fingertips, they may get more than they bargained for. Pairings may vary. COMPLETE!
1. It's Raining Men

**A/N:** Oh my goodness, I could not let this idea go to waste! I know I haven't been updating my other stories but maybe this will help me get back on track AND give you something else to read while you wait for updates… I guess. Haha…

o.o.o

**Title: Maid Service  
Genre(s):** Romance, Humor, Drama, Tragedy  
**Summary: **_Kairi and Namine get the job of a lifetime—working as maids in the Bishonen Mansion! However, with Sephiroth as head 'chief' and many hot, sexy guys at their fingertips, they might just get more than they bargained for._

_**Other:**__ Pairings may vary. Chapters will be numbered Roman numeral style. POV's might change from time to time._

_**Warning: May have Yaoi 'incidents.'**___

o.o.o

**I – It's Raining Men**

_Kairi's POV_

Here I am, 18 years old and still pitiful. I never went to school, never had any real friends and definitely have never been in love. I live in a run-down house with my Aunt Tifa and my sister Namine. We're laughingstocks in this pitiful town with pitiful people. Did I mention I'm pitiful?

_'Ugh…'_

I hate the smell of gasoline. Most people I know like it, but I just can't stand it.

Tifa tried to start the car up. Fail.

"Aunt Tifa, what on Earth made you think we were going to make it back? You _knew_ the tank was nearly empty!"

"I'm sorry! I was in an… adrenaline rush! You can't blame me!"

"Sure I can!"

As I listened to Tifa and Namine argue, I just leaned against our broken down Camry and thought of one thing. We're going to have to walk to the nearest gas station and beg for assistance.

But in a town like this; a town where _everyone_ hates us, that's not likely.

Might as well start walking home. That car was no good, anyway.

"Kairi, where are you going?" Namine called out to me.

"Home."

The clouds collected in the sky above me. It was definitely about to rain. Things like this always happened to the three of us. Our life was… pitiful.

Wow, I've grown really fond of that word.

Ever since our mother died, Namine and I always had to take care of ourselves. Tifa didn't know her right from her left. I always wondered why mom left in her will for us to be taken under Tifa's wing, of _all _the 'wonderful' sisters she had. My Aunt Yuffie, who, by the way is freaking rich would've been the much better choice. All of my mother's relatives were much better choices, but she decided to stick us with Tifa. I hoped to any god out there that it wasn't because she wanted to teach us a _life lesson_, because you could hardly learn anything useful with a middle-aged single woman who things beer pong is the best game ever and has an addiction to anything _cheesy_… including our father Cloud's hair. (Which she thinks is _cheesy_.)

Now you're probably wondering… now that I've mentioned my father, why aren't we staying with him? It's quite a long story, might I add, but I've got all the time in the world. My house is about three hours away on foot, thirty minutes by driving. But since we don't have a car thanks to Miss No-Good-Bi--- anyway… my father. Cloud Strife has to be the most stuck up man I know; in fact, he turned the entire town against us. He denied us being his daughters when he became Mayor. Something about a _reputation_. He made _us_ look stupid in front of the entire town when we would cry out, 'daddy, why don't you love us?' and made people think we were mental.

If mother were here, she would've _never_ let something like that happen.

But I think her death had a lot to do with his sudden… _change of heart_, so I try not to blame him too much.

However, that excuse is getting really old now.

So without any real adults to show us in the right direction, Namine and I have nothing. We're probably going to be working stupid jobs for the rest of our lives, making minimum wage and if we're lucky, get some old apartment with barely any cracks in the walls and possibly some nice neighbors.

As Namine and I walked down the street, (Tifa thought it would be wise to stop and ask for help in a town of lunatics) the rain started to pick up. Before we knew it, we were soaked. I would say life couldn't get any worse, but in all honesty, it could. I'm a freaking jinx.

Oh gosh, why did I even have to _think_ it?

Just then, a limo raced by us, hitting a puddle and splashing us both. I stood there, completely soaked and was about to just break down and cry. Namine, on the other hand was running after the limo screaming any curse words she could think of.

This was our life.

But then, something strange happened.

The limo was going in reverse.

"SHIT! Namine, what did you do?!" I grabbed her wrist and ran for it, not getting very far. Tripping over air, (yes, I told you already, I'm pitiful) I brought her down with me. The limo caught up with us and I could hear the window rolling down. This was it. We were dead.

"Are you alright?" A concerned voice asked.

I just laid there with my face in the concrete. The last thing I needed was some rich jackass making fun of me.

"Um…" I heard the car door open and footsteps. I immediately came to my senses, jumped up and got into a defensive stance. However, that didn't last long because I was staring at some of the most beautiful, blue eyes I had ever seen in my life.

The boy, about my age approached us. He didn't seem to care about the rain. Wet, his hair dangled down in front of his face; his white-buttoned up shirt was see-through his shoes were probably really uncomfortable at this point because he stepped right through the puddle he splashed us with.

"Are you girls alright?"

I had never seen such… innocence…

_'No, it's a trap. He's going to reach out his hand, we're going to think he's trying to help us, then he's going to pull it back and laugh in our faces. Get a hold of yourself, Kairi!'_

Sure enough, he put out his hand to me.

Namine slapped it. "We don't want your help!"

The boy looked at his hand and seemed really surprised. However, he didn't walk away.

"Geeze, Sora! Why do you have to help every useless stranger we see?"

I heard a car door slam on the other side and saw blonde spikes walking around.

"Roxas, these girls need our help. Give them that umbrella you're holding."

I finally got to my feet. I didn't like the comment he had just made about _useless strangers_, so I wasn't buying their little act. The boy apparently named 'Roxas' groaned and handed us the umbrella, but of course, stubborn as we were, we refused.

_'Oh my gosh… why did they have to be so CUTE?!'_

Sora held the umbrella over us anyway. Namine held onto my arm, afraid he was going to hurt us but I was ready to fight if it came down to it. Now that I thought about it, there was one good thing about Tifa; she taught me how to defend myself.

Speaking of Tifa, where was she?

I think Sora was finally getting the message that we didn't want to be bothered, so instead he quickly grabbed my arm and put the umbrella in my hand, holding onto my hand for a moment before letting go and smiled.

"You know what, Roxas?"

"What?" He definitely just wanted to get out of here.

"I know it's sudden… and probably very unlikely since we just met and all, but…"

"Oh gosh, Sora… you can't be thinking of taking them _home_!" Roxas groaned again.

"No! Well… sort of… but not in the way you're thinking!"

"Oh, right. Like I need to hear anymore _moaning_ sounds coming from your room…"

"What?!" Namine shrieked.

"No, no, no! Just listen!" Sora pleaded.

I wasn't sure what to do at the moment. Should I run? Should I kick his ass?

"Let's just let them stay with us for a while. They don't seem to have a place to go to…"

"Hey!" I yelled, getting a little pissed off.

"I mean, I'm sure your parents won't mind letting their daughters—"

"Alright, alright! Just put them in the car! Let's go! I'm tired of this rain!"

"You'll have to excuse my brother… he's very impatient." Sora said, grinning uneasily.

"We're not going _anywhere_ with you!" Namine said.

As much as it intrigued me to know what kind of place they lived in, the situation just seemed a little fishy. For all we knew, they could be rapists.

"What's going on here?"

Tifa was standing behind us. Namine quickly ran over to her and hid behind her.

"These boys were trying to kidnap us!" Namine lied.

"What? No! That's not it at—" Before we knew it, Sora was knocked out on the ground.

"Tifa!" I shrieked, immediately rushing to the unconscious boy's side. Roxas didn't dare to step forward. Instead, he got back into the limo. Surprisingly, the limo drove off without Sora.

_'Some brother he is…'_ I thought to myself.

I turned my attention back to Sora who was knocked out cold. Tifa had kicked him in the face and probably punched him a few times; who knew. I lifted him onto the sidewalk as Namine and Tifa watched, confused. For some reason, I felt like I had to help him.

"They were trying to help us," I said, "at least… Sora was."

Tifa giggled. "Oops!"

Man, I can't stand her sometimes.

I carried him all the way home.

o.o.o

**A/N:** Well, that's it for the first chapter. Short, I know. But hey… a **review** would be nice…

_**What's to come:**__  
When Sora wakes up, he's taken back by his surroundings. He's never been in a… poor person's home before. That's when he offers Namine and Kairi to come and live with him… in a mansion._

**Review!**


	2. Meet The Guys

**A/N:** Oh wow! Thanks for all the support, you guys!

o.o.o

**II -**

_Kairi's POV_

With the help of Tifa, we were able to carry Sora all the way to our house and lay him down on the couch. (After moving all the bills and junk off of it.) I felt a need to clean up a little so he didn't think we were complete losers when he woke up, but most of it couldn't be helped. Since we had no cable (damn cable company…) all we could really do is sit in silence and watch him, which I was perfectly fine with because he was the most… okay, I won't finish that. We all changed into dry clothes, got washed up some and sat back in the living room.

Namine had calmed down a little and was starting to accept the fact there was actually a _guy_ in our house. She had been teased by boys for so long that she grew _immune_ to them; at least I think she has, because I've _never_ heard her say anything positive about a guy. Me, on the other hand, despite all the guys that have kicked dirt at us and called us names all of our lives, I was still able to spot a cute guy when I saw one. There was something… _different_ about Sora…

I really hope Namine's not a lesbian. Oh _GOD_ I hope not…

But just because a girl is scared of the other gender and won't even go near them doesn't make her a lesbian. I shouldn't judge.

_'Shit, if she's a lesbian I'm going to kill myself!'  
_  
Anyway…

So Tifa decided to cook, something she hasn't done in years. It was probably out of pure boredom or the fact that there was a guest here. We _never_ get guests besides Tifa's gambling friends that come over every Friday for a game of Bingo (don't ask) and some other games I'm too young to know about, apparently. Even then, they're all too drunk to care about food and such so Tifa doesn't even bother. Namine usually makes dinner.

Sora stirred on the couch and finally opened his beautiful blue eyes. I felt my stomach twist as he looked over at us. Namine curled up into a ball in the rocking chair, refusing to look at him.

"What… happened?" He asked. "Where am I?"

'_Inn-oh-CENCE!'_ My subconscious screamed, making me squirm in his presence.

Sora sat up and looked around. "Oh, you're up!" Tifa said from the kitchen, holding up the spatula and smiling cheesily. "Just in time! I was making some… some…"

"You don't even know what you're making?!" Namine jolted over to the kitchen and took over. Tifa merely laughed it off.

Sora let out a nervous laugh, but he still wanted to know what was going on. "Last I remember I was in the rain… talking to you…"

"Sorry for kicking you." Tifa said, taking a seat in the rocking chair Namine was previously in.

"Ki-kicking me?" Sora rubbed his own cheek and noticed it hurt. "Oh… ouch…" His eyes met mine but as quickly as they did they shot off in another direction. He also noticed the towel we had given him, since he was still in his wet clothes.

We didn't want to change him!!

Well, _I_ did, but Namine begged me not to.

_'Damn you…'_

Okay, hormones… calm down…

"And you actually brought me home?" Sora seemed astounded we would even do such a thing. "I'm… grateful…"

"Don't worry, I'm really nice once you get to know me." Tifa grinned.

I wanted to shoot her.

Sora wrapped the towel around himself and smiled softly. "By the way, I never caught your names. I'm Sora."

"The name's Tifa Lockheart."

Sora nodded and looked over at me. I froze.

"And… yours?"

"Oh! How cute! She's blushing!" Tifa broadcasted.

Okay, where's my gun…

"K-Kairi…"

"Kairi?" Sora repeated. I nodded to confirm.

"And that's my sister, Namine in the kitchen."

"Mm. Well, it's nice to meet you all!" Sora said happily. Gosh, could he GET any cuter?

"Sora, are you hungry or anything?" Tifa asked, heading over to the kitchen.

"Oh… now that you mention it…" He paused. "How long was I out for?"

"About two hours or so." Tifa answered.

"Wow… you hit hard."

"Twenty years of martial arts training would do anyone some good."

"Wow, really? I've always wanted to learn—"

"Dinner's ready!" Namine yelled, immediately rushing off to her room nervously and shutting the door.

"She's shy." I said.

Tifa, Sora and I gathered into the kitchen. There was corn, some leftover meat and green beans. Okay, not the best in the world but remember, we're poor. Sora didn't seem to mind, however. He ate happily and accepted everything we offered. (Except for Tifa's alcohol)

But I couldn't help but think that it felt like a whole new world to him. I saw him in that limo—I know only rich people can afford limos. Wherever he comes from must be twenty-thousand times better than here. When he leaves he'll just forget all about us and go back to his perfect life…

"I've never had such a… simple meal." Sora said.

"What do you mean?" Tifa questioned.

"Uhh…"

An awkward silence crept up on us all, but Sora knew just how to break it.

"Miss Tifa, may I talk to you in private?" He asked standing up. She nodded and followed him outside, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I heard Namine's door open.

"Why are you hiding?" I asked.

"Does he like the food?" Namine asked quietly, twiddling her fingers.

I nodded slowly, adding a smile so she'd feel better. It worked and she jumped for joy, finally joining us—or, me at the table.

"Where'd they go?"

Before I could answer, Sora and Tifa returned. Tifa looked very excited.

"First we have to change you out of those clothes. You can't go back looking like _that_."

I had forgotten that Sora was _still_ wearing his wet clothes, which were probably dry by now.

He looked damn good though…

"I have a T-shirt and sweat pants that won't be too bad." Tifa hurried to her room.

"Oh, you're out." Sora said to Namine, who tensed up in a heartbeat. "The dinner was good." He added.

"T-T-T-Thank you!"

"Girls, get ready!" Tifa said, bringing Sora back some clothes.

"Ready for what?" I stood up.

"We're going on a little… vacation." Tifa said.

"WHAT?" I yelled, but calmed down when Sora looked my way.

'Vacation' was _not_ in a poor person's vocabulary.

o.o.o

I had never been in a limo before…

…next to a cute guy, especially.

Wait, I thought Tifa was going with us. Why is she standing outside and waving?

"Have fun, girls!"

"What? No! Don't leave me! Let me out!" Namine fought with the door.

Must be child's lock.

"Don't worry. This will be… fun!" Sora said happily.

"Sora, where are you taking us?" Namine shrieked. "I don't want to go anywhere! Let me out!"

Sora didn't answer. Even I was a little afraid at this point. Tifa wasn't the smartest person in the world, remember? Sora could've lied to her and was really kidnapping us…

As we drove away, I could hear Namine crying on the other side of Sora. Every time he tried to comfort her she smacked his hand away and tried to scoot farther away—even though she couldn't. Sora just left her alone after a while.

"So… why did your brother ditch you like that?" I asked.

"He's only worried about himself. I'm used to it." Sora said casually.

"Complete opposites, eh?"

Sora shrugged. "You could say that."

Looking out the tinted window, I could see a huge hill. As my eyes traveled up the hill, they became set on the biggest house I had ever seen in my life. All of a sudden it got dark.

"Ahh! What's happening? Where are we?" Namine panicked.

Lights came on. We were in some sort of a garage. Wait, wasn't the mansion _on top_ of the hill??

"We can take the elevator from here." Sora said.

"Elevator?"

The chauffer opened the door for us. Sora walked over to the red elevator and signaled for us to come alone. "Don't be afraid. It won't bite."

I took Namine's hand and cautiously walked over to him. There was a ringing sound and the door opened. Sora let us in first and then came in. He pressed the only button on there which read, 'Up.'

I leaned against the golden rail. Namine jumped once we started going up. Sora was calm and probably laughed at Namine a few times from all the _excitement_. Where was he taking us? Why did we even agree to do this?

"Any time now…"

After what seemed like an eternity of wondering where the hell we were going, the elevator stopped. The door opened and Sora walked out.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

White-tiled floors sparkled in front of us; beautiful paintings that only the richest people in the world would have were spread out on the walls, a huge chandelier hung over us lighting the entire room, (if that fell on anyone they would definitely die… okay, enough with sadistic thoughts…) and there were stairs on both sides that met up at a small balcony that overlooked the place.

I was afraid my dirty shoes would mess up the floor.

"Come on!" Sora tugged us out of the elevator. I heard it go back down.

"Uhm… Sora, why are we here?" I asked.

"Oh, you're… back." We whirled around and saw Roxas standing there. "And you brought them after all."

"Yup! Hey, where's Chief?"

_'Chief?'_ I repeated in my head.

Namine hid behind me. God, she's such a coward.

"He's in his room right now. Why?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"Great! Keep them company!" Sora dashed for the stairs.

"Wait, what?" Roxas said, but Sora was already upstairs.

Awkward. Silence.

"Roxas, you really need to start taking care of yourself. You get drunk so easily. You left your boxers in my room again."

_'Big guy with red hair say what?!'_

Roxas' eyes widened. He turned around, grabbed his _white boxers with pink hearts_ and shoved them in one of his many pockets, which half of it still hung out some and was blushing a deep red.

"Oh, hello, ladies. What brings you here?"

"We're… not sure…" I answered, because I knew Namine was as stiff as a pole at the moment at the sight of yet another man.

"Sora brought them. Who knows." Roxas said, still sounding a bit frustrated at the appearance of the slightly older guy.

_'Is he… gay?'_ I wondered.

"Ah. I see. Listen, Sora loves to do it under the moonlight."

I gulped. "R-right…"

"By the way, name's Axel."

"Pleasure..." I shook his hand nervously.

Just then we heard a door slam above us.

"WOOHOO!" Sora came sliding down the rail, finishing with a spin in the air and bowing.

"Okay, what drugs are you on?" Roxas asked.

"Hold on just a minute."

We all looked up. All of a sudden I felt like my life had been drained out of me.

A man with extremely long silver hair was coming down the stairs. He wore a long black trench coat with a white buttoned-up shirt underneath and baggy black pants. His green eyes pierced into us, particularly Namine and I like daggers.

Okay, I haven't even written my will yet. I don't want to die…

"These two?" His voice was deep but calm.

"Yup!" Sora saluted, probably for no reason.

"What are your names?"

We straightened up immediately. I _really_ didn't want to die.

"Kairi. And this is my sister, Namine."

"Kairi and Namine… Sora has requested for you to stay here. Give me one good reason why I should let you."

"He did… what?" I asked, slowly turning my head to glare at Sora.

"Sir," Namine got in front of me and bowed respectfully, "We don't know why he would do such a thing but we're not interested in staying here!"

The man raised his eyebrow and examined us for a while. He then let out a huge sigh. "Too bad."

Sora came over to plead with us. Why the hell does he want us here in the first place?

"Please? You two helped me out so much and I feel like this is the only way I can repay you! You'll get your own rooms, live a life of luxury and—"

"Sora, that's enough." Chief said.

Sora obeyed his 'master' and stepped aside.

"You two look like you need some help." Chief said bluntly without really realizing what he said. "I can make you the richest girls alive."

"Are we… the only girls here?"

"No, there's one more. She works in the library." Sora said. He was shushed immediately.

"I pay for all your health insurance, college wishes, travel expenses… anything you want."

"He sure does!" Sora grinned.

"Shut up!"

Now I was starting to reconsider. Maybe this _was_ a pretty good chance to get on our feet.

"How many… people live here?" I asked.

The Chief pulled out a small red button and pressed it. Nothing happened.

Apparently though something _did_ happen, because I saw men coming from different directions. Namine hid behind me again and cowered.

One, two, three… seven, eight… eleven…

I counted as they kept multiplying. All boys, all under twenty-five it looked like and all…

FREAKING HOT.

The Chief counted the men as they lined up horizontally in front of him. "Where is Tidus?" He snapped.

"Sir! He is out at the moment, remember?" Said a man with shoulder-length brown hair.

"Ladies, come here."

We didn't dare to disobey and faced all eleven of the guys. This 'Chief' really knew how to put them in line, because they just stared straight ahead without saying a word. Sora wasn't even moving, which for some reason surprised me.

Starting on the right side with Roxas, the Chief told them to introduce theirselves.

"Name is Roxas. I'm 18 years old."

"Genesis. 21 years old."

"Call me Squall." Said the man that spoke earlier. "I'm 23."

"Zexion. I'm ageless."

"You already met me. I'm Axel, age: 19. Got it memorized?" He winked.

"Terra. I'm 20 years old."

"Reno. 26."

A man with pink hair blew us a kiss. "You couldn't guess how old I was. My name is Marluxia."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Riku. I'm 19."

I saw Namine blush at the sight of him and giggled.

"And you know me! I'm Sora!" Sora gave yet another cheesy smile. "18 also."

The last guy was a bit standoff-ish. "Seifer. Don't mess with me."

"And you may call me, your master, Chief. But my real name is Sephiroth."

"Well… I'm Kairi."

"And I'm Namine!"

Namine was so freaking shy it was annoying.

So here we were, standing in front of ten extremely gorgeous men, wondering what to do next. I knew Namine didn't really want to stay, (well, maybe she did she just didn't want to admit it) but in the long run I thought this could be good for us. However, its either we both stay or neither of us. I turned to Namine.

"Well? What are we going to do?" I whispered. Namine looked over at the guys one more time, setting her eyes on Riku longer than any other guy and then turned back to me.

She nodded.

Oh my goodness, she actually _wants_ to stay?

After pondering for another moment, I finally came to a decision.

"Alright, we'll be happy to stay here."

"YAY!" Sora cried out happily.

"Are you sure?" Chief asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Everyone, let's welcome Kairi and Namine into our home, then."

The guys started walking up to us; even I was starting to get a little nervous. I shook most of their hands; Seifer and Zexion didn't want to for some reason.

"Genesis, go fetch their work clothes." Chief said.

"Wait, _work clothes_?" I gave him a confused look.

"Well you don't think you can stay here for free, do you? All of these boys work for me and you will too."

"Fair enough." Namine said.

"Whoa, you talked normally for once!" Sora poked her nose.

"Hey! Don't touch me!" Namine shrieked.

Genesis came back carrying a box. He gave it to me and bowed, keeping his distance.

I opened it. Inside was what looked like a dress of some sort. Together, Namine and I pulled out the dresses and then looked at them.

"OH HELL NO!" I yelled, dropping it onto the floor.

Namine seemed to be freaking out behind me at the sight of the _French Maid_ outfit. "It's so… revealing…"

"Oh, please. That's nothing. We walk around naked all the time." Axel said, definitely not making the situation any better.

"Take it or leave it. But I suggest you try it before leaving it." Chief told us.

"Um…"

I didn't know what to do.

o.o.o

**A/N:** Okay, I didn't mean for that chapter to be so long but I guess I got carried away. Who's complaining though, right? ^^

_**What's To Come:**__  
Can we say, POOL PARTY? To welcome the girls, the guys try to get them to go swimming. But you know how Namine is, and Kairi is finally feeling the effects of how much her life is about to change. Some flirting, sillyness, and of course just uber awesomeness from the one and only Zexion. Stay tuned!_

_**Review please!**___

o.o.o

_**Review Replies!**_

missmurder16:_ Thanks, and obviously, I most definitely will do so._

_**CookieSuechtigesEtwas:**__ Wow, I'm surprised I was able to type all that. Lol. Yay! Cookie! Thanks so much for reviewing!_

_**-x-StaarGiirl-o-:**__ I honestly don't know how Kairi was able to do that. Ahh, the joy of fanfiction… I'm also a SoraxKairi and NaminexRoxas fan, but I don't always write that way… so we'll see!_

_**SecretAgent99:**__ Hmm, I took your suggestion to heart, and honestly I've already thought of that anyway. :D So I don't think you'll be too disappointed… haha._

_**ConverseG1rl:**__ That's okay, I'm not good at commenting either, but thanks for doing so! Even the smallest one counts._

_**DW64:**__ Thanks, Darren! :D_

_**Scootch4411:**__ Thanks a lot. I'll definitely continue._

_**VergilTheart:**__ Lol, I love making Tifa the bad ass drunk character. Always fun. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**MsKittyCullen:**__ Hmm, I may put something in here later on about the mother. May take some time though._

_**sailor winx,**__**tenshimitsuki, stefanie51:**__ Thanks for reviewing!_

_**Ellie0223:**__ Aww, what maid story is this? I want to see!_

_**Redwolf17:**__ Hopefully you won't be disappointed! Thanks for the review._


	3. Pool Party!

**III**

_Namine's POV_

I freaking love this place.

But I won't admit it.

My sister is over there trying to make a very important decision and I'm like let's just go for it. However, I'm way too timid to speak. Being in the presence of all these guys sends chills down my spine—especially _him_.

Riku. One year older than me.

I think I've just discovered love at first sight.

Call me crazy, but I'm serious. I have never felt like this before.

I mean, come _on_… long, beautiful silver hair just past his broad shoulders, a strong built, (but not too much) and gorgeous aqua eyes I could just stare at forever…

Perfect was standing right in front of me and I had no idea how to handle it.

"Namine? Namine, can you hear me?"

Yes my dear sister, I can hear you just fine. But go away. This is my _moment_.

Everyone else disappeared—or seemed to. Riku just stood there in all his perfect glory, smiling at me. All I could do was lift up my shaking hand and wave frantically to him.

Great—I've just completely humiliated myself without even saying a word.

I was shaken out of my wonderful trance by Kairi. We were about to be shown to our rooms by Sora and Roxas.

Why couldn't Riku do it?

I sighed and followed behind them, not even bothering to look around me. The boys took us over to a red door behind the stairs in the far corner of the room. Sora took out a key and unlocked it.

"Why is it locked?" I heard Kairi ask.

"Oh, Sephy likes to keep us safe." Sora said.

"You can't call him that!" Roxas hissed.

"Whatever."

Sora definitely was more carefree than his brother. He always seemed to be walking on the thinnest lines of things, if that made any sense whatsoever.

Oh well… I didn't care for Sora.

Riku…

I love that name.

"This is my room, this is Roxas' room, this is Riku's—"

"Riku's?" I repeated, since he was on my mind anyway.

I noticed we were walking down a long hallway. There were six doors on each side with one door at the very end. We were apparently standing next to Riku's room. It was a green door with a fancy golden handle. All the doors were different colors. Sora's was red and Roxas' was blue. Their names were each inscribed in gold on their doors.

We reached the end of the hallway where we faced a normal brown door. "This leads upstairs." Sora told us and we entered the stairway.

Kairi and I looked out the glass window as we passed by. There were plains that stretched who knew how far. The sun was setting just behind the hill. What a nice view.

The second floor looked exactly like the first—the hallway did at least.

"We could've taken the stairs in the ball room, but… I figured I'd give a detour. Sephiroth's room is at the end of this hallway." He pointed to a door that was bigger than the rest.

"So if everyone's rooms are downstairs, what's up here besides that?"

"Oh, this is Olette's room. She works in the library down the hall." Roxas said. "There are three more bedrooms up here, along with a small kitchen and music room."

"This is where you two will be staying. Namine gets the one of the right and Kairi the one on the left." Sora said, digging into his pockets once more. "Ah, there they are. Here you go."

He handed us two golden keys similar to his own. "Don't lose them. It's how you'll get into your room. Those keys can open all the main doors, but not other's rooms. Got it?"

We both nodded and stood in front of our doors. I noticed mine was blue like Roxas'. Kairi's was pink. We opened them at the same time and walked into our separate rooms.

That bed is enormous!

Definitely big enough for three or four people… not that that many people would be in my room anyway… on my bed…

Oh gosh, wake me up now…

A _flat screen TV?_

My own bathroom and shower?

I don't even want to ask how much the antique rug below me cost.

Not only that… I have a balcony!

This is truly amazing.

How did I go from penniless to _this_?

"Like it?"

I jumped. Roxas stood behind me laughing. That was the first time I saw him smile.

"It's… wonderful…" I said, giggling to myself. "Is this really… _all_ mine?"

"Of course."

"NAMINE, I LOVE IT! WE'RE DEFINITELY STAYING!" Kairi ran into my room happily.

"But… what about Aunt Tifa?"

"Don't worry," Sora stood at the door. "We've got her taken care of."

"I'm sorry…" I walked over to him. "I still don't understand why you're doing this for us. You don't even know us…"

He looked at me and smiled. "Well… you know…"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

The man with spiky red hair appeared, clapping his hands to get our attention.

"I see you found your rooms."

"Axel, what's up?" Roxas asked.

"We're all going swimming if you girls want to join us."

"Swimming? We don't have—"

"Bathing suits?" He finished. "Not to worry. We have a fresh selection of bathing suits already set out for you in the closet. Choose whichever one you like." He winked and walked off. Roxas followed him, leaving us alone with Sora.

"Swimming is… fun!" Sora said. "Come on!"

I went over to my closet. I was surprised to find a bunch of clothes; blouses, tank tops, t-shirts… everything. It was like they were expecting us or something! I found the bathing suits.

Oh… HELL NO.

"Two piece… two piece… two piece…" I kept pushing bikini after bikini aside. I finally found a nice, white one piece bathing suit. This made me feel a little better.

It fit perfectly. Sora waited out in the hallway for us, since he knew we would probably get lost. I opened my door slightly and stuck my head out.

"Oh, you ready?"

"Is Kairi out there yet?" I asked, hiding my body behind the door.

"Not yet."

I shut the door quickly without thinking. Even though I wasn't wearing a bikini, I still felt naked. I wrapped the towel around myself, made sure that I had my key and walked out.

Oh gosh, why is Sora looking at me like that?

I've never felt so embarrassed.

I turned around and faced my door so he couldn't see me. Just then, Kairi came out of her room wearing a pink bikini.

"I love it!" Kairi said.

How can she not feel completely exposed?!

As Kairi showed off her perfect body to Sora (I could've sworn I saw a nose bleed) I stood there frightened. I was actually about to go swimming. Do you KNOW what that MEANS? Yes, that means that the boys will be shirtless, in their swimming trunks… and poor little ol' me will be there to suffer! Well, not suffer… but you know what I mean… argh, I'm so nervous I'm babbling now…

"Namine, you coming?" Kairi asked. They were already down the hall.

o.o.o

The backyard was amazing; the pool overlooked the mountainside. Small lights on the side of the pool about three feet apart lit up the water and made it sparkle. There was a Jacuzzi not far from it. A bar along with a grill and a bunch of chairs and tables were under a shaded area of the house. The garden was filled with daffodils and lilies.

Roxas and a few others I didn't remember the names of were already in the pool. Squall was at the grill cooking something. I felt a wet hand touch my shoulder.

"Well now, don't you look stunning?" Marluxia said in a very vibrant way. "That is… if you would take off that towel."

I held onto it more. I was pretty sure this man was gay but gay or not I didn't want him complimenting me at all. Nobody compliments me…

Kairi jumped into the water and made a huge splash. How could she be having so much fun? Did she even understand that we were just _commoners_ not even two hours ago? Maybe I just take things way too seriously…

"Namine, get in! The water's great!" Sora yelled.

"Go on!" I felt a slight push. Axel and Marluxia giggled behind me.

"Riku, come on!" I saw Sora waving. I turned around and there he was—Riku was standing there in blue trunks and a white t-shirt. He glanced at me for a moment but then walked towards the pool. He conversated with Sora for a bit and then—out of the blue—took off his shirt.

"Namine, you're blushing!" Marluxia said.

"AM NOT!" I quickly hurried over to a table and sat facing the window, refusing to look at Riku.

Even though I wanted to…

No, you _can't_. Nothing good EVER comes out of love…

"It's okay to be embarrassed." I heard a deep voice say behind me.

Squall was flipping hamburgers on the grill. He didn't look at me, just continued to do what he was doing.

"I-I-I'm not…"

"Marluxia will do that to you. Axel too. Don't let them get to you."

I saw Kairi walking towards me with a towel wrapped around her waist. She sat down next to me.

"Look, Namine. I know this is definitely a big change for us… but why not just take it? They offered, they seem cool… so why not just have fun?"

"You're only saying that because you like Sora…" I said.

"And?" Kairi shrugged. "You like Riku."

"I-I DO NOT!"

"Anyway, it'd be nice if you joined us by the pool. Nobody's going to make fun of you. If they do, I'll be sure to kick their ass."

I finally accepted and followed her over to the pool, still covering myself with the towel. Riku was floating in the water on the other side not even paying attention. I watched as Sora snuck up on him and dunked him, leading to a small battle between them to see who can dunk the other. Obviously Riku was stronger than the scrawny boy and pushed him under. Kairi went over there to 'rescue' him. After much hesitation, I finally let the towel down and put my feet in the water.

Sora was carrying Kairi across the pool. I didn't know she was such a big flirt; she definitely wasn't like this two hours ago. Riku was doing laps. I watched as he swam so swiftly through the water. He was such a good swimmer.

Roxas and Axel were shooting hoops into a small basketball goal they put up. Marluxia was laying in a chair tanning in the dark with his sunglasses on. All of a sudden, I felt water all over me. Kairi splashed me!

"Hey!"

"Would you hurry up and get in the water?" Kairi tugged on my leg. Sora grabbed my other leg and they pulled me in. I fell under water. The sudden pressure made my nose hurt. When I came back up, I started coughing.

"You alright?" Kairi giggled as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Fine…"

I saw Riku floating again at the other end. He didn't even notice me…

"Whoa, look out!"

Something hit my head!

"Ow!"

Axel retrieved the basketball. "Sorry about that, miss." I glared at him.

"You don't look so happy." Sora said, raising an eyebrow.

Of course I'm not happy you idiot…

"You'll have to excuse him…"

Riku appeared next to Sora. Wait, where did he even come from?

"Sora's a little dumb." Riku said.

"Hey!"

"Does your head hurt?" he ignored his friend and came over to me. Kairi got the message and pulled Sora away from us.

"N-n-n-"

I couldn't even finish my sentence. Or word. Or whatever you call it. Great job, Namine! Ten points for looking like a complete ditz!

His eyes met mine. Riku stroked my head where the ball hit gently. "You're okay."

If I drowned, I could probably get out of this alive.

Wait, that didn't make sense.

Do you SEE what you do to me, oh gorgeous one?!

Ugh, I can't even think straight…

I feel like… I feel like…

Yup, I fainted.

o.o.o

I woke up on the ground next to the pool. Aqua blue eyes stared down at me.

What the hell happened to me?

"Namine! Can you breathe? Answer me, Namine!"

"Kairi…?"

"Oh my gosh!" Kairi glomped me, nearly cutting off my air supply.

"You nearly drowned!" Sora said.

"Yeah, then Riku saved you!" Marluxia said.

"Don't give him more credit than he deserves."

I looked over and saw Zexion sitting at the table holding a small book in front of his face.

"Ohh, Zexy… you don't have to be so jealous!" Marluxia teased.

"I am not jealous of anything."

"I'm just glad you're alright." Riku told me.

Wait, so I really _did_ drown?

As Marluxia and Zexion argued back and forth, I was still dazed from earlier. Riku… saved me?

"Everyone best be getting off to bed now!" Genesis said. "Orders from Chief. Chop chop!"

There was some groaning. Riku reached out his hand and helped me up. I couldn't even look at him for more than a second without blushing, so I tried not to. However, I did manage to smile…

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't die. Poor Roxas here would've been heartbroken." Axel said to me.

"What?! Axel… you little—" Roxas ran after him and hit him in the head.

Okay… that was weird…

"I'll walk you to your room." Riku said.

"Oh… you… don't have to!" I started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

Stopping immediately, I turned away. "Nothing…"

"Ha. You're cute. Rest up, then. Tomorrow we all have to get back to work."

"Work…" I had completely forgotten about that.

Kairi and I returned to our rooms. It was so weird having my own room; Kairi and I would always bunk together. After showering, I dried my hair and went to bed. Tomorrow was our first day as maids… and it sure was going to be something.

Maids just clean… right?

o.o.o

**A/N:** Yay for chapter three! I hope you enjoyed it and I really hope you leave a review!

_What's to come:  
Yup, it's their first job ever and Kairi and Namine are already having difficulties. With Genesis' OCD ways, it's nearly impossible to please him, since he reports everything to Sephiroth anyway. Also, they finally meet the only other girl in the house—Olette. They hang out with her and Zexion in the library. Stay tuned for more craziness!_

o.o.o

**Review replies!**

_**Moonlit Assassin:**__ Thank you! No, I'm not ditching FLT. I'm just on a writer's block right now and it sucks. I'll definitely update it, though!_

_**Southern Hearts:**__ I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!_

_**mUSIC4LiFE95:**__ Oh yes, pairings will be crazy. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**VergilTheart:**__ Yes, Kairi needs to keep them under control. xD_

_**J1210:**__ Not sure who that is but I'm sure there's plenty of stories kind of like this one. I'll find a way to make it original, though!_

_**SecretAgent99:**__ I wonder what you did with this chapter… lol. And you're welcome. I love the Namine/Riku pairing._

_**-x-StaarGiirl-o-, RedWolf17: **__Thanks for the review!_

_**missmurder16:**__ Haha, yes, I can totally see Axel and Marluxia working together too. We'll see what happens!_

_**DW64:**__ You know you like it! Haha, thanks for the review._

_**Angel heart-chan:**__ Thanks!_

_**Craxuan:**__ Well yeah, it is more of a Xemnas thing but the way that Zexion will be in this story… it fits him as well._

_**Eevee-san:**__ Haha, my friend is a huge Genesis fan. You can thank her for the suggestion. And of course, Zexion is awesome too._

_**Ellie0223:**__ Yes, it will be revealed. It might take a while, but it will._

_**meiir:**__ Bad karma… or is it? Lol… thanks for the review!_

_**MsKittyCullen:**__ Eww, Riku? No! Riku is cool… his mom thinks he's cool… lol. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**sailor winx: **__I think we all would love to be in their shoes. It's nice to dream, isn't it? Thanks for reviewing!_


	4. Poetry Battle

**IV**

_Kairi's POV_

Oh, dear God.

I can't believe 'Chief' woke me up at seven in the freaking morning.

As I struggled to get out of bed, time continued to pass. I think I read 7:46 last time…

I opened my eyes.

_8:35…_

Ugh, five more minutes…

_8… it's after 8… supposed to be somewhere at 8 but can't remember where… why is there loud knocking on my door…?_

"Kairi! Wake up, Kairi!"

"Move aside."

I heard some other things on the other side of my door but I was out of it. All of a sudden the door flung open. Namine was standing there with Chief and Sora. You know what? I'm just going to call him Sephiroth.

"Sleeping on your first day, eh?" Sephiroth made his way over to my bed. That's when it hit me.

I jumped out of bed and hurried over to my drawers. "I am SO sorry, sir!"

"I think there should be a punishment for this…" Sephiroth pondered to himself for a moment. "Aha! I know just the thing."

I looked up at him and gulped.

"You will help Sora out in the kitchen today."

Okay… how is that a punishment?

"In fact, Sora, take the day off."

"Wait, why? But sir…"

"Sora, don't argue with me."

I pretended like it was a punishment and just nodded and accepted. I reached for my maid clothes.

"Oh, you won't be needing those. I have something else for you downstairs."

Namine looked terrified. Sephiroth escorted us downstairs.

"Sora, take Namine to her first job—cleaning the ballroom."

I watched as Sora and Namine headed the opposite direction. Okay, working in the kitchen couldn't be _that_ bad, right? Sephiroth made it sound so terrible. This was going to be a piece of cake. After what seemed like forever, we finally reached the kitchen. Roxas was wearing a chef's hat and apron. Marluxia and Terra all looked at me confusedly.

"Miss Kairi will be joining you today." Sephiroth said. "Terra, get her work clothes for her."

Terra left and came back with some raggedy white apron and gloves. It had brown stains on the front of it. He returned over to the stove where he was boiling something.

"Now my clients will be here in an hour and they're going to need all the help they can get. Roxas, you'll be making the refreshments, Terra, spice up something nice for breakfast and Marluxia, I know you can handle the dishes." Marluxia smiled and nodded. Sephiroth turned to me. "You will tend to every need."

"Huh?" I didn't get it.

"You will get the items they need to make their food and serve it to my clients. You will also dry all the dishes and put them away. Understood?"

"Y-Yes… Sir."

"Alright, get started. Genesis will be in here to check on you from time to time." Sephiroth waved and left.

They all continued what they were doing. Roxas was going through the cabinet, Terra was already making some eggs and Marluxia was standing around. I went over to him.

"What… should I do first?"

"Putting the apron on is a nice start."

"Oh, right…"

I looked freaking ridiculous.

Oh well, a job was a job.

"Kairi, I need the bacon. It's in the fridge." Terra said.

"I'm on it." I looked around for the fridge but couldn't find it. Why on earth isn't there a fridge in the kitchen?

Even Roxas chuckled some as I searched around like a noob. I finally found it in a small closet up against the wall. What a strange place for a refrigerator. I opened it. There were piles among piles of things.

"Kairi, I _need_ the bacon!" Terra said impatiently. "Those clients are hungry, _hurry up_!"

How the hell am I supposed to find the bacon in a fridge full of everything else? Let's see… burritos, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, bread, mayonnaise… but still no freaking bacon package.

"Kairi, the coffee beans." I heard Roxas say.

"You know what, forget the bacon. Get me some salt."

I slammed the refrigerator door and walked out of the closet. How did they expect me to know where everything was on my first day here?

"Where is the salt?" I asked as politely as I could.

"In the cabinet, of course." Terra grinned. Oh, he was evil.

I looked around. There were like twenty cabinets. Sighing, I started at the first one and kept going down the line. Still no salt. Plates, cups, instants… aha! Found the salt! I went over and handed it to him.

"I'm waiting for the coffee beans." Roxas leaned against the counter.

Okay, I didn't know why they were being so mean to me, but that stuff doesn't fly with me especially when I did nothing to them.

"I went back to the cabinets. I could've sworn I saw some in there…"

"Kairi," Sephiroth popped his head in, "My first client would like to order."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

"They would like to order _now_."

I looked at Roxas and Terra and hurried out. Wow, the dining room was huge. I saw a small man sitting on the red, velvet couch. Sephiroth seated himself in the chair across from him.

"Don't you have a piece of paper to write down my order?" The small man asked. "What if you don't remember and get it wrong? Huh? What's going to happen if I get something I'm allergic to?"

Was this man _mental_?

Oh wait, Sephiroth _did_ say he was his _client_.

Wait, Sephiroth is a psychiatrist?!

"I'll be right back." I smiled as sweetly as I could and rushed back into the kitchen. "Paper! I need a piece of paper!"

"Here you go, darling." Marluxia handed me a small notebook and a pen. Oh my gosh, that was the nicest anyone had been to me all day. I thanked him and hurried back to the crazy guy.

"Alright, what would you like for breakfast?"

"What do you have?" He asked.

"Uhh…" I looked to Sephiroth, but he didn't help me. "Well… we have eggs… and bacon… and stuff…"

"How about chocolate chip waffles? I would really like some of those. You know, they always calm me in the morning. I really need to be calmed…" He began breathing heavily.

"Whoa, slow down, take it easy George. Nam is over with. Think of bunnies and rainbows." Sephiroth said. The man named George stopped and went back to normal.

"So… um…" I wasn't sure if it was okay to speak or not, "You would like some… chocolate chip waffles. Is that all?"

"Aren't you going to ask him what he would like to drink?" Sephiroth said.

I was _getting_ to that…

Well, I would've forgotten but he didn't need to know that…

I'm sorry, I don't usually eat breakfast.

"Oh! Do you have blueberry muffins?"

I really didn't know. "Of course!" I wrote that down. "Now, what would you like to drink?"

George looked around. "Milk is fine. That's all."

"Right." I turned around and headed back to the kitchen. I could feel the tension from Sephiroth as I left. Is this what Sora had to do every day?

"Okay, I have an order of… chocolate chip waffles, a blueberry muffin and some milk."

"Cold milk? Warm milk? What?" Terra asked.

"Um… cold?" I said, since the man didn't specify. Who likes warm milk anyway?

"You didn't ask, did you?" Terra continued.

"I didn't know I was supposed to. Chill out."

"Terra, it's her first day. Calm down." Roxas said.

"I will NOT be mocked because of some poor girl's mistakes!" He took off his chef hat, threw it on the ground and then started ranting in French. Marluxia went over to calm him, but it didn't work.

Roxas came over to me. "Look, don't worry about him. He's got anger issues and is very, VERY particular about doing things. We're only going along with it because we knew Sephiroth was trying to punish you."

"So Sora's job is a punishment?"

"It usually is, but he's gotten so used to it Sephiroth doesn't know what to do with him anymore, so he just left him here in the kitchen. By the way, don't worry about the coffee, I already got it started."

"The man wants milk."

Roxas blinked a few times. "Right."

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

Scrubbing floors is a nightmare!

"Sora, _please_ stop trotting around… your shoes are dirty!" I begged.

"What? Oh…"

Seriously, the boy was dense. I didn't know what Kairi saw in him. I sighed and cleaned up the spot Sora had just pranced out of. As a matter of fact, was he doing ballet?

"Sephiroth has a dance class every week for us." Sora said, spinning in the air. "He teaches us the waltz, square dance and even modern dance! I remember one time—"

"How's it going in here?" Genesis appeared, holding a clip board.

"Oh, Genesis! I was just about to tell Namine about your secret wish to dress as a girl and dance with Seph—"

Sora was smacked across the face. Genesis came over to me. "You missed a spot here…" He pointed behind me.

"Sorry, I'm not quite finished yet." I immediately scrubbed the spot he was referring to.

"Oh, and you're going to have to clean up that blood on the floor where Sora was. Wait, where did Sora go?" Genesis looked around.

"Here!" Genesis was knocked to the ground. Sora jumped onto his back. "Give me a piggy back ride, Genny-boo!"

"Don't call me that!" Genesis threw Sora off of him. "Geeze, you're such a child! Sephiroth will have your head!"

"Oh, come off it. We all know Sephiroth only uses his sword for _good_ things." Sora grinned.

Genesis gritted his teeth. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Nope! Sephiroth gave me the day off… which reminds me…" Sora ran off in the other direction.

"Hey, where are you going?! Come back!"

Genesis sighed and looked at me. I immediately got back to scrubbing the floor.

"You're not doing it right!"

"Huh? How—"

Genesis grabbed the rag from me and started speeding across the floor with it; he was so fast I could barely see him. He was mumbling incoherently so I didn't have a clue what he was saying but I could tell he was really frustrated. The room sparkled once he was done. He handed the rag back to me.

"That's…" He was obviously out of breath, "how you clean… a floor…" He turned. "Now follow me to your next assignment…"

"Um, are you alright?" I asked.

"FINE!"

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

THESE GUYS ARE CRAZY!

"Kairi, you're not drying fast enough." Marluxia said in a calm but demeaning way.

"HELLO!" Sora busted the door down. He came over to me. "How do you like my job? Isn't it fun?"

"Sora, get out of here!" Roxas demanded.

"Aww, but I'm bored. I want to help Kairi! Of course nobody does my job better than me and I feel bad for her so I want to help!"

"Boys, hurry up with those waffles!" Sephiroth said. "Sora, what are you doing in here?"

Sora flashed a smile. "Just helping Kairi. Geeze, Sephy, you're mean."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

Sora's eyes widened. "Gotta go!" He disappeared in an instant.

After a morning of nearly ripping my hair out, finally it was time for a break. I searched around for Namine and finally found her with Genesis in the dining room.

"And when you're _dusting_ something, you must _lift_ it and dust _underneath_ it as well! Also, Chief is very particular about his action figures. They must be lined up perfectly!"

"Y-yes sir!"

"Hey." I said, scaring Genesis out of his wits.

"SWEET JESUS!"

Namine didn't look too happy. "Sorry, Kairi. I'm still not finished with my job yet." She tried her hardest to line up the power rangers figures in the right order after dusting them. Just when she thought she got it right, Genesis had to disagree.

"You're so forgetful, aren't you? Chief would _never_ approve of this! The green power ranger goes AFTER the yellow one!"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Namine fixed it.

Genesis took out a magnifying glass and inspected the figures carefully. "This one is off by a little less than an inch."

"So?" I said.

"CHIEF LIKES HIS ACTION FIGURES IN TOP CONDITION ALL THE TIME!" Genesis yelled.

"You seem to become very sensitive when it comes to… Chief." I teased. Genesis' face reddened.

"They're just… power rangers…" Namine said, probably wondering why Sephiroth had power rangers in the first place.

"And what are _you_ doing?" He turned to me. "Shouldn't you be changing into your maid outfit? Chief doesn't let anyone who sleeps in off that easily. Get back to work!"

"What's your job, anyway?" I asked.

"I am his number one supervisor!"

_Do all of them have anger issues?_

"Well, Namine is doing just fine. Shouldn't you go and _supervise_ someone else?" I crossed my arms.

"Oh… you will learn not to mess with me…" Genesis said in a cold tone. "GO GET DRESSED AND STOP STALLING!"

So I finally changed into my pink maid outfit for the first time and it was surprisingly comfortable. Putting on my knee-high white stockings, I wondered how the guys would look at me in this. I mean, Namine was already getting stared at in her black one I'm sure, but honestly, I'm prettier than her. She's innocent, I'm devilish. They're going to be all over me. I guess it depends on the fetish. That's really what French Maids are about, right? Fetishes?

I felt like a whore.

I left my room and met up with Namine and Genesis at the end of the hall. They were standing in front of the library waiting for me.

"You're two minutes late." Genesis looked at his arm as if there was a watch there, but there wasn't.

"Whatever…"

We went into the library. There was a girl sitting at the desk bored out of her mind. She wore a bright orange tank top and beige pants and had nice, wavy brown hair.

"Welcome!" She greeted. "I'm Olette. Welcome to the library."

"Yeah, yeah." Genesis said. "These girls are going to do some dusting."

"Shh!"

Zexion came out from behind one of the many bookshelves. He was wearing black glasses and looked kind of… cute.

"I'm trying to read here. I must have this book review finished by tomorrow!"

"Book review?" I asked.

Zexion sighed. "It's my job to read books and tell Chief which ones are good or not so he knows whether or not read them. I must give a full summary of the plot, explain why each thing happened and if I don't like it, tell him why."

"Right…"

"So what's the point of him reading it if you tell him the entire story in the book report?"

Zexion gave me a blank stare. "Good point."

"Zexion, get back to work." Genesis demanded. "Now, these bookshelves are very dirty. I was this place spotless!"

"Genesis, stop acting like you're the boss around here. You know Chief doesn't like you much, right?" Zexion said.

"Oh, you want to fight? You know you'll lose!"

"Bring it." Zexion glared.

"Wait!" Olette appeared between them. "Let's settle this… in a poetry battle!"

"A poetry battle?!" Genesis and Zexion said in unison. They looked at each other and smirked.

"You're on."

I couldn't believe they were about to go through with this.

"Okay, here's the rules," Olette began. "You must say a quote from a poem, and the other must say the next line. If you get it wrong, then you lose. And you only have five seconds to respond. The roles will switch after each turn."

"I've never heard of such a game…" Namine sweat dropped.

"Zexion, you can go first. Say a quote from any poem you like."

Zexion smiled and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, not taking his eyes off of Genesis. "Alright, here goes. Finish this."

_"Thinking of you, wherever you are."_

Genesis smirked. "Easy."

_"We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope for our hearts will blend."_

"Now I step forward to realize this wish." Zexion said proudly.

"Why does this sound familiar?" I questioned myself.

Genesis continued. _"And who knows, starting a journey may not be so hard."_

"Or maybe it's already begun." Zexion smiled.

"Alright! Good job for round one!" Olette said. "You did it perfectly. Alright, Genesis it's your turn to start."

"Okay, um… ah."

_"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky," _Genesis said.

Zexion merely yawned. _"Ripples form on the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest."_ He looked bored, which intimidated Genesis.

_"There is no hate, only joy."_

"For you are beloved by the goddess."

Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds."

"That's right!" Olette said. "Zexion, your turn."

Zexion cleared his throat. "Try this."

_'I'm nobody, who are you?"_ Zexion said dramatically.

_"Are you nobody too?"_ Genesis answered.

_"There's a pair of us, don't tell! They'd banish us too!"_

Genesis' eye twitched. _"How dreary… to be somebody…"_ Zexion continued.

"Five seconds!" Olette said. "Four… three…"

_"How public… like a frog…"_ Genesis finished.

_"To tell your name of the livelong day,"_ Zexion said quickly.

Genesis was stumped. Zexion watched him intently, waiting for him to finish the poem.

"Three… two…" Olette paused for a moment, but nothing came out of Genesis' mouth.

_"…T'was the night before Christmas…"_ Genesis said, defeated.

"That's wrong! Zexion wins!" Olette clapped.

"Of course I do." Zexion stated. "Nobody can beat me in a poetry battle."

"ARGH!" Genesis stormed out. "ET TU BRUTE!"

Zexion returned to his chair. Namine and I stood there, stunned.

I only had one thing to say to that.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT?!"

"I'm sorry about that… I had to stop the violence. Chief doesn't approve of it. They would've been kicked out immediately!" Olette giggled.

Sora and Roxas entered the library. Olette straightened up quickly at the sight of Roxas and went back over to the desk.

"Hiya." Sora said, looking me up and down. "You look good."

"Thanks." I blushed.

"Want to come down for a snack?"

"Um, we really have to finish dusting the library… or start, rather…" Namine said nervously.

"Really?" Sora said in disappointment. "Wait, the _ENTIRE_ library?"

We both nodded.

"BLASPHEMY!"

"Um, Sora… I don't think _blasphemy_ is the right word for this." Roxas said smartly.

"OF COURSE IT IS!"

"Okay, _please_, Sora. _Enlighten us._" Roxas said sarcastically.

"Someone put them up to this! Nobody has EVER dusted this library! Meaning… meaning… I lost it. What was I talking about?" Sora scratched his head.

Roxas sighed. "Anyway… while Sora tries to figure out what's so _blasphemous_ about dusting a library, you two should take a little break. I'm sure Chief wouldn't mind."

"I got it! This is an insult to Sephiroth!"

"How is that?" Roxas yelled. "And are you calling our master a god?!"

"Um, DUH. Sephiroth IS God!"

"I still don't get it…" I said.

"Me neither. Anyway, who wants cake?" Sora zoomed out of the room.

Wait, why do I like him again…?

o.o.o

**A/N:** Well, that's it for chapter four. **Review**__please!

_**What's to come:**_  
_Kairi and Namine join the rest of the boys for some cake and find out some very interesting things. And just when they thought they had had enough of the other eleven guys, Tidus returns with a new… guest. Also, they learn some stuff from Reno in the garage. Stay tuned!_

**Mind you, sometimes I have to change the chapter around a little bit just like I did in this one. So the "What's To Come" is just the ideas I have for the next chapter, and is not official.**

o.o.o

**Review Replies!**

EternalAria: Yes, I think so too!

**RecklessxDreamer:** Haha, I wish it was a show. It'd be really funny to actually see Kairi and Namine in this situation…

**sailor winx, DW64, , ., Eevee-san, SecretAgent99:** Thanks for reviewing! ^^

**Craxuan:** What's that?

**-x-StaarGiirl-o-:** Of course there will be more Sora and Kairi stuff. I try not to make things move too quickly, though.

**MsKittyCullen:** Aww, do you hate Riku that much? Haha… that's alright… we'll see who Namine ends up with!

**VergilTheart:** I don't know, was Genesis all Monk-ish? Haha, thanks for reviewing!


	5. Out on the Town

**V **

_Namine's POV__****_

As we went with Roxas and Sora down to the kitchen, I could hear some arguing going on as we made our way there. Roxas sighed and stopped.

"I think we should wait."

"Why?" Sora asked. Roxas ignored him.

We stood there quietly outside the dining room door waiting for the right time to go in. But of course, Sora just _had_ to intervene…

"That's sounds like Tidus! Tidus is back, Tidus is back!" Sora raced through the door before any of us could stop him. I looked over at Kairi.

"Why do you—"

"I know." She answered. "I don't know either."

Roxas, Kairi and I stepped into the dining room. Chief was standing there along with Genesis. In front of him was a boy with blonde hair and uneven shorts. There was someone else standing next to him that nobody seemed to recognize.

"Tidus, where have you been?"

"In Bologna, of course!" Tidus answered happily. Oh please, not another Sora…

"TIDUS!" Sora glomped him.

"Get off me!"

"SORA!" Chief gave him a death glare. Sora backed away quickly. Chief turned back to Tidus. "Now what on earth were you doing in Bologna?!"

Tidus scratched his head, letting out an uneasy laugh. "W-Well… you see…"

Genesis gasped. "Wait, you mean… _Bologna?!_" He shouted.

Tidus blinked. "Yes…"

"Sir," Genesis turned to his master, "_everyone_ knows what Bologna is known for! Tidus was doing naughty things!"

"Why have I never heard of such a place?" Chief pondered, keeping his eye on Tidus. He looked at the man behind him. "And who is this guy?"

"Oh!" Tidus put his arm around the other man's shoulder. "This is Zack. I met him over in Bologna!"

"And why did you bring him here?" His eye twitched.

"Well…"

The man named Zack stepped in front of Tidus and bowed to Chief. "Tidus has told me all about how wonderful you are. I would like live here."

"Eh?"

"Sir, I must advise against it!" Genesis claimed.

"Shut it."

Genesis got quiet immediately. I think I heard him sobbing.

"Oh, wow!" Sora went over to Zack. "You want to live with us? That's awesome!" He ran over to Tidus. "Sir, please trust Tidus' judgment!"

"SORA! Did you take your medicine today?!"

"N-no…"

Sora ran off to go and take his 'medicine.' Kairi giggled behind me.

"You have to admit," She whispered, "he _is_ cute."

"Who? Sora or Zack?"

"Sora, dummy."

"Oh." I nodded. "I guess so…"

All our eyes were on the newcomer, who was still on his knees. Tidus stood behind him with puppy eyes, hoping that the master would give in just like he did for Sora with us. Chief was skeptical, however.

"What makes you so worthy?" He asked.

Zack stood up and smiled. "Well, Sir… I actually have some information you might want to know. But I can only say it in private."

"Oh?" Chief looked around at all of us, meaning it was time to leave.

Roxas, Kairi, Tidus, Genesis and I all gathered in the ballroom.

"I wonder what he's going to tell him." Kairi said.

"Zack is such a cool guy." Tidus began, "I hope he sees that."

"How did you meet him, anyway?" I asked.

"Well, we were on the same tour bus. He told me he had seen me before, which was a little strange but as soon as he said Sephiroth's name I believed him."

"Why would he know the master's name?" Genesis asked, getting a bit defensive.

"Um, hello… in case you forgot, Chief is the most famous psychiatrist in the world." Roxas said, rolling his eyes.

"But… what are you all doing in a psychiatrist's home?" Kairi asked. Nobody answered her, so she dropped it.

"Anyway, Zack wanted to see him for himself." Tidus said. "Plus, he's just really cool. I think he'd fit in perfectly."

"What's going on?" Riku appeared.

We updated Riku on the situation. I didn't say anything the entire time he was here unless I was spoken to. I always acted foolish around him…

Sora came back and joined us. He was a little mellow, but that didn't bother any of us. He nearly passed out on the floor though.

"Sora, are you alright?" Kairi asked.

"I… hate… my medicine…"

"But we all know you need it." Riku told him. "It's good for you."

"But it makes life… boring…" Sora whined.

"Grow up." Roxas said.

I guess I could understand why they were all so mean to him; he puts it on himself. But Sora can't seem to help the way he is unless he takes his medicine… is that why they keep him around? Oh… what am I talking about? They all must have problems of their own if they're stuck in a psychiatrist's home—the top psychiatrist at that. It kind of scares me…

I could be surrounded by crazy people!

Rapists… schizos… _Murderers?!_

I think Kairi and I were in for a lot more than we knew…

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

Sora fell asleep on my shoulder. I wonder what kind of meds he has to take; for ADD, maybe? He seems to have something like that, but I'm not sure. Either way, he's freaking adorable. Yes, of course he's a little weird and random, but hey, it keeps things interesting.

Namine won't even dare to look at Riku, who had just put on his headphones and was listening to music as he leaned against the wall. It was a comfortable silence as we all waited for Sephiroth's talk with Zack to be over—what exactly were they talking about? I also wonder… why would Tidus bring back a complete stranger? Oh wait, we were complete strangers too…

The people here are weird.

Finally we heard a click. Sephiroth and Zack walked into the room. "Roxas, show him to his room." Sephiroth handed Roxas a key and they left. Tidus was about to go with them but was stopped.

"Tidus, you and I need to talk." Sephiroth and Tidus went upstairs, leaving the rest of us down there once again. Sora woke up.

"I'm hungry…" He said. "Who wants cake?"

Since we had nothing better to do, Namine, Genesis, Riku, Sora and I headed to the dining room. On the table was a huge, red-velvet cake with a note attached to it.

"From the master…" Genesis picked it up and read it. "It's just to welcome our new guests… Kairi and Namine." He mumbled something and threw the paper down.

Geeze, what's his deal?

Roxas, Zack, Tidus, Axel and Marluxia joined us a few minutes later. Squall, Zexion, Olette, Terra and even Seifer came. As I was counting, I noticed someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Reno?" Axel asked, as if he was reading my mind.

"Still working." Squall responded.

"Go get him." Genesis said. "He can't keep missing out on family activities."

_Family?_

Squall did as Genesis said and left the table. Terra began passing out plates. He glared at me as he set one down in front of me. However, it didn't bother me. It was my first day; there was no reason for him to get angry. He just has issues.

"I'm so happy you get to stay!" Tidus said, patting his new friend on the back.

"Let's just bring an entire band next time…" Roxas mumbled.

"Oh, lighten up Roxas!" Axel said. "The more the merrier! By the way, does anyone mind if I take off my pants?"

"WHAT?" Roxas yelled.

"Kidding. Seriously, Roxas… you need to chill."

"Roxas is never _chill_." Sora said.

Finally, Squall came back followed by Reno. He was wearing dirty clothes as if he had been working in a garage or something. He was the only one I had barely seen around here.

"Who's that?" Reno asked, pointing to Zack.

"This is Zack."

Namine, Olette and I were served first. I've never had red velvet cake before. I picked up my fork and started eating.

"AMAZING!" I yelled out without realizing it. We devoured the cake in seconds.

"That was hot." Marluxia said, making me feel a little weird.

Genesis twitched from across the table and decided to change the subject. "We're all going into town tonight. Chief wants us to do some _bonding_."

"Seriously?" Roxas groaned.

"I don't know why he wants me to _bond_ with you guys… you guys are total nut jobs…" Genesis said.

"Yeah, coming from an OCD!" Axel shouted.

"Shut up!"

o.o.o

So we all went our separate ways. What were we going to do in town? What would I wear? As many questions ran through my head, I realized one thing. All these clothes in my closet were either too short, too long, too big, too small or TOO SLUTTY!

I picked out some jeans and an oversized T-shirt and met up with everyone downstairs. We all loaded into the limo. Sora sat down next to me. His medicine must've worn off, because he was right back to his crazy self, going on about frogs and why you should never kiss one. Seriously, if I knew Sora was like this, I never would've fallen for him. Too late now…

Roxas sat in between Axel and Marluxia. He looked like he wanted to shoot himself. Axel and Marluxia were laughing about something and torturing the poor guy in the process. Squall and Reno weren't talking to anyone, Genesis was arguing with Tidus and Riku was just staring out the window. Namine watched him a few times, but then tried to play it off and say something to me. She was in way too deep.

We stopped at Wal-Mart. The limo parked in front of the store. People stared at us as we got out, some girls nearly fainted and the men were intimidated by us. How often to you see a limo pull up to Wal-Mart? Anyway, Sora jumped out happily, but Genesis quickly grabbed his collar to make sure he didn't go anywhere or do anything stupid.

"Someone get a leash for this boy!" Genesis demanded, not meaning it literally.

"Aww…" Sora backed down and came over next to me.

"What are we doing here?" Riku asked, looking around confusedly.

"Beats me." Terra answered.

"We need some groceries." Seifer said, making his way into the store.

"Since when?" Riku sighed and followed us in.

"Hey Kairi," Sora picked up an apple, "did you know apples are my favorite?"

"No, I didn't." I said.

"Do you want to know _why_ apples are my fav—"

"Nobody cares." Roxas dismissed, taking the apple from him and setting it back down.

"Hey!" Sora pouted.

"So what do we need?" Riku asked up ahead.

"Tuna." Seifer responded.

Riku stood there for a moment. "…That's… it?"

Seifer nodded and continued scanning the vegetable isle. Riku cursed to himself and came over to Sora and I. We saw Zexion over in the cards isle and went over to see what was up with him.

"These cards are stupid." Zexion said, throwing it back onto the shelf.

"Oh, don't you make cards, Zexion?" Sora asked.

"Yes, and they're twenty times better."

"So why aren't they on the shelves then?"

"Fuck you." Zexion said calmly.

"Zexion, you should recite one of your cards for us!" Sora clapped his hands together.

"Never!" Zexion ran off.

Genesis, Squall, Seifer and Terra were checking out the clothes section.

"You can't wear that!" Genesis told Seifer.

"Since when were YOU the boss of me? I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"Chief… would NOT approve!"

"Why don't you go make out with him already…?" Seifer mumbled under his breath, but it was loud enough to hear. Genesis' face went extremely red. He stormed off, leaving us there.

"What a homo." Seifer said.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sora went up to Seifer. "Genesis is…?"

"A fag."

Sora gasped. "No way!"

Seriously, even _I_ could tell that man had a thing for Sephiroth.

"He practically worships him. He's in the closet." Riku raised an eyebrow.

"I AM NOT GAY! We are leaving, NOW!" Genesis pulled a whistle out of his shirt and blew it as loudly as he could. We all assembled around him. Once everyone was here, we all returned to the limo.

I had to admit, this _was_ pretty entertaining.

As we drove off to our next _mystery destination_, I suddenly began thinking about Tifa. Sora said they had her taken care of, but… what did he mean by that? I was actually starting to miss her.

And yes, it's possible to miss someone who thinks playing Janken while drunk is the best betting game ever. (A.K.A, rock, paper, scissors.)

As we entered down town, I noticed there were a lot of shady people out. "Chief wants us to _enjoy_ ourselves… so he sent us here." Squall noted.

"Where's… here?" Namine asked.

"RAVE!" Sora jolted out of his seat and towards the door. Nobody was able to catch him; it was a lost cause. Everyone unloaded out of the limo but Genesis and Reno.

"We'll pass."

"Oh my gosh, it's Sora chan!" I heard girls squealing. Sora was over there with a bunch of them just laughing and having a good time. I twitched.

Wait, am I… jealous?

No way…

"Kairi, Namine, over here!"

"These are my friends, Yuna, Rikku and Paine!" Sora grinned.

"Hi there…"

"Sora, what brings you around here? I thought you were banned…" Yuna asked.

"Shhh! They don't know that…"

"Banned?" I repeated. It wasn't hard to come up with a reason why he wouldn't be allowed to go somewhere, though.

"Well… last time I threw a smoke bomb and screamed at the top of my lungs… needless to say…" Sora rubbed the back of his head and laughed.

That boy really _does_ need his pills…

"Oh, Sora… you're so funny." Rikku smacked his shoulder.

So we went inside the rave. Flashy, colorful lights and extremely loud techno music rang in my ears. Sora grabbed some glow sticks and started doing a bunch of tricks with them, making it a very trippy experience to watch. Someone tapped Namine on the shoulder.

"Hey, you know where I can get some rolls?"

"E-Excuse me?"

"You know… X?"

"How dare you! No! I am a drug free girl!" Namine said and stormed off. I followed her to make sure she didn't run into any trouble. We went into a hallway where people were standing against the walls and talking, some were making out and we had to step over someone that had passed out on the floor. Namine covered her eyes in horror as we progressed down the hallway. We found a small room with tables and a few people sitting down. Riku, Tidus, Axel and Roxas were over in the corner. Axel had his arm around Roxas' shoulder.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Axel's trying to… hit on me…"

"Why… aren't you fighting back?"

"Because he loves me too much, he just won't admit it." Axel smiled. He then proceeded to lick the poor boy's face. Roxas reddened and became really stiff.

"Get a room." Riku said coolly.

Namine squealed and ran off again. "Namine, wait! You don't know what's out there!" I went after her. Riku and Tidus came with me.

"SHIT!"

Namine was nowhere to be found.

She wasn't in the ladies room, which was weird because it was a co-ed bathroom; she wouldn't go near one of those, even if her life depended on it. Riku, Tidus and I split up and searched for her.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

I… I…

I'M SCARED!

All these people… around me… they're… high on something! I'm not sure what… but… my eyes… they… THEY BURN!

There are two shirtless guys making out right in front of me!

…

HELP ME!"

Where's the exit?

Where's Kairi?

Where's Riku?

I WANT TO GO HOME!

"Namine?"

Oh gosh, I think I'm tripping.

Riku stood in front of me with his hand out.

"What are you doing in that corner? Are you okay?"

I look past him and see those same two guys doing tongue. "GROSS!"

Riku blinked a few times and then looked behind him. "Get out of here, you're scaring her!"

They grumbled and went somewhere else. I felt a little more at ease as I got to my feet.

"I think Genesis is waiting outside. He's not one for these things."

I noticed Riku didn't let go of my hand as we went towards the exit, and even when we got outside he still held on. Almost everyone else was already outside. Kairi ran over to me.

"Namine, where did you go? Are you okay?"

"I just… want… to go… home…"

"Seifer?"

"Here."

"Squall?"

"Here."

"Axel?"

"Here."

"Sora?"

No response.

Genesis gritted his teeth. "Sora?" He repeated.

Still, nothing.

"DAMN IT!"

Genesis and Squall ran inside to get Sora and came out a few moments later dragging him out by his feet. They threw him into the limo, (literally) and got in afterwards.

"Reno and Zexion are at the bar next door."

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

So he thinks he can out drink _me,_ huh?

We'll see about that…

I took another shot of vodka. Reno and I continued to order shot after shot. We were up to our fifteenth one. I was doing just fine and he was about to pass out. I saw some of the gang walk in.

Reno held the shot up to his mouth and waved back and forth. "I can still… out drink you!"

He fell over.

"Pussy."

"Zexion, it's time to go." Squall told me. He looked down at Reno who was _sleeping soundly_ on the floor. "What happened?"

"He couldn't take it."

"You're too competitive, you know that?"

"Yup!" I made my way back to the limo, feeling a little wobbly. "I'm okay!"

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

"Well, this was a fun night." I said, breaking the silence.

"I can't believe they took me out of the rave." Sora said. "I was having fun!"

"That's the last place you need to be." Riku stated.

"Sora, did you ever take your pills?" Genesis asked.

Sora hesitated. "I took… _some_ pills…"

Genesis smacked him over the head. "I'm telling Chief!"

"I swear, you love him don't you?" Seifer retorted.

"SHUT UP!"

o.o.o

After getting back to the mansion, we all went our separate ways. Namine and I went upstairs to our rooms, saying goodnight to each other. It's so weird sleeping in different rooms, but I kind of liked it.

About ten minutes later, I heard a knock at my door.

"It's Sora!"

I opened it. He was in his pajamas and was wearing a green cap for some reason or other. "Can I talk to you?" He asked in a serious tone.

"Um… sure…" I said. This was the first time in a while I've seen him actually be serious.

"It's about… well, lets talk outside."

"…Okay." I went out onto the balcony with him.

o.o.o

**A/N:** Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I've been really crazy about Japanese dramas lately and just couldn't stop watching stuff dealing with Arashi members. (If you know/like that band, KUDOS) But yeah, I'm almost back on track I guess. **Review**!

_**What's to Come**__:  
Sora tells Kairi a little secret, Sephiroth interviews everyone, meanwhile Roxas and Axel have secrets of their own. _

o.o.o

**ShadowSpooky:** Where do I get these ideas? The dark corners of my mind and the little person in my ear who whispers bad things… no, actually I have no idea. Lol.

**Snowkel:** Hehe, thanks. And I hope that my advice helped you out. Don't give up!

**Swanna, angelica, Sora195, Genesis Fan, EternalAria:** Thanks for the reviews!

**AitheHeartlessGirl:** Yes, Zexion battles with everyone. Thanks for the review!

**Angel heart-chan:** Sephiroth is a psychiatrist. You'll find out more soon. :D

**Neverendingpain:** Yes, I love doing that to Sora. Will Namine end up with Roxas? Hmm, I wonder…

**RecklessxDreamer:** Yes, Sephiroth likes going old school. Thanks for the review.

**Ellie0023:** Yes, they're all insane, but doesn't that make it more fun?

**Echo the Ethereal Swordsmaster:** XD

**J1210:** The first season of Power Rangers. 

**Craxuan:** Kingdom Hearts is awesome.

**MsKittyCullen:** Chief is Sephiroth, but they all call him Chief except for Kairi and Sora. Thanks for the review!

**VergilTheart:** Yes, that's one of my favorite lines too XD

**SecretAgent99:** Yes, like I said, they're all insane.


	6. Dance Class

**VI**

_Kairi's POV_

Sora and I went out onto the balcony. The pool beneath us glittered in the moonlight. Sora rested his head on the rail lazily and watched the water. Was he alright? It was a little weird seeing him like this. Usually he'd be bouncing off the walls or something. Something was different.

"Are you… okay?"

"You know… I'm thinking of leaving."

My eyes widened. "Say what?"

Sora straightened up a little. "Nobody around here likes me. Not even my own brother."

"That's not true. Namine and I like you. Isn't Riku your friend, too?"

"Yeah, but… he'll be moving out soon." Sora said. "I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like everyone hates me… that I'm a burden to everyone."

What triggered this?

"Did something happen?" I asked.

He looked over at me with sad eyes, but then looked away. "No. It's nothing. I've been feeling like this for a while. I act crazy to cover up all of—" Sora shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you this… I'm going to go now …"

Sora headed towards the door with his head down. Without thinking, I rushed over and grabbed onto his hand. He gave me a surprised look. I let go.

"Sorry… didn't know what I was thinking."

Sora managed to smile at me. "You know, you're a great person. I'm glad Sephiroth chose you."

"_Chose_ me?"

"He doesn't let just _anyone_ stay here. He must see something in you."

"I see…" I paused. "Hey… Sora?"

"Yeah?"

I put my hands behind my back and stared at the ground. "Why… do you all live here, anyway? I mean… why did Sephiroth take you in?"

Sora crossed his arms and tapped his foot for a moment, as if he was debating whether to tell me or not.

"I'm sorry… you don't have to answer… just… a little curious, that's all…"

"Because… like you, we either were homeless or in some other poor situation."

"Really? But by the looks of you all…"

"Heh… I don't know." Sora said. "Sephiroth just likes to help others. We're pretty much considered his children."

"So… where did _you_ come from, Sora?"

"Honestly… I don't remember. Roxas doesn't know either. Sephiroth just found us on the street one day and brought us home. Sounds a little weird, but it was the best thing that ever happened to us." Sora yawned. "Sorry, I'm a little tired."

"Ah…"

Knowing all of this definitely gave me a new perspective about the guys in the house and even Sephiroth. Sora and I went back inside, said goodnight and I headed off to bed. However, it was hard to sleep. I wondered why he came to talk to me, of all people. It made me feel… kind of good.

o.o.o

The next day we had to get up early once again to do our _work_. Namine and I scrubbed the ball room floors, cleaned the den, hallways, and almost everywhere else. After sneezing up a storm because of the dust, we were finally done around one in the afternoon. Sora was back to his normal, cheerful self and was prancing around happily.

"Hey, you girls coming to the dance class tonight?"

"Dance… class?" Namine asked, looking as pale as a ghost.

"Uhh… sure, why not?" I told him.

"Yay!" Sora ran off.

"Kairi, why did you do that?!" Namine shrieked.

"Hey, lighten up. Who knows, maybe you get to dance with _Riku_…" I teased, nudging her puny little arm.

That night, Sephiroth gathered everyone into the ballroom. Namine and I lined up next to Sora at the very end of the line and waited for instructions. Sephiroth came down the stairs. The boys saluted to him.

Sephiroth took out a piece of paper and cleared his throat. "Riku, Sora, Axel, Zexion, Marluxia and Tidus… come with me. Roxas, get Kairi and Namine some proper clothing for dance rehearsal. The rest of you, get ready. You know what to do."

"Sir! What are you doing with them?" Genesis asked.

Sephiroth didn't answer him. Roxas nudged my shoulder.

"Come on."

We went with Roxas to a large, golden door. "Chief would prefer for you to wear something that comes down to your knees… and heels." Roxas unlocked it and let us inside. It was a huge closet filled with tons of different dresses, costumes and other garments.

Excited, I ran over to the first thing that caught my eye; a light blue dress with a beautiful flower-beaded embroidery flowing diagonally through the front. Namine picked out a simple red dress that came a little past her knees and matching heels with silver jewels on them. After we were finished getting dressed, we came back out to see that Roxas had changed as well. He wore a black suit with a red tie.

We assembled back into the ballroom, each in our positions. All the guys that Sephiroth didn't take with him were dressed in suits just like Roxas, but each with different colored ties. They all stared straight ahead. Did this turn into some military camp?

All of a sudden, we heard two clapping sounds and the lights went out. The boys remained stationary, but Namine and I were a little startled. We weren't sure what was about to happen. A spotlight came on and Sephiroth came into view. He was also dressed in a suit and tie.

"Since we didn't have enough girls, I decided to make due with what we did have. Kairi, Namine, step forward once." Sephiroth said.

Two spotlights shone on us as we did so. What was going on…? Who was controlling the lights, anyway?

"I will choose your partners, starting with the men behind you. Terra, step forward."

Terra stood next to me.

"You will be Kairi's partner."

"EH?" We both yelled.

"DO NOT DISOBEY!" Sephiroth demanded. "Terra, take her hand and escort her over to the side of the room."

Terra mumbled something under his breath as he grabbed my wrist and forced me over with him.

"Roxas, you will dance with Namine tonight."

Lucky her…

"Yes, sir." Roxas took Namine's hand and came over to where Terra and I were standing.

"Squall, today Zexion is your partner."

Squall didn't seem bothered by the fact he had to dance with another guy, but then again maybe they were used to this. However, nobody was prepared for what came next.

The spotlight focused itself on Zexion.

Wait, that _was_ Zexion, right?!

Okay, okay, okay. Imagine a guy wearing fake, clip on earrings, same hair color extensions that went little ways past his shoulders, makeup, a _dress_ and a _tiara_ to top it all off.

Now imagine Zexion.

I busted out laughing. I just couldn't hold it in.

The heels he wore clashed with the stairs as he came down. Squall waited for him. Zexion literally looked like he wanted to kill something.

And besides, that makeup did absolutely NOTHING for him.

Oh my goodness, this was hilarious. Where's a camera when you need one?

"Reno, you will be dancing with Tidus tonight."

Tidus looked just as horrible; maybe a little worse. He wore a blonde wig, a nice, purple dress with a bow tied around the waist and matching heels. Drag queen, much?

"Seifer and Axel."

Axel looked the most feminine of all; his fiery red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, he had on fake earrings and a red Chinese dress with pretty flower designs all over it and a slit on both sides. The red lipstick topped everything off. As he walked up to Seifer, I could've sworn I saw Seifer trembling in fear.

"Zack, Riku will be your partner."

Oh gosh, will it _ever_ end?

Namine froze at the sight of Riku's cross-dressing; she looked like she was about to have a heart attack. He wore a navy blue, knee-length poofy skirt that matched his tank top and sandals. His hair was pulled back halfway.

Okay, this was a little ridiculous. Why would Sephiroth do this to them?

It was still entertaining, nevertheless.

Marluxia was so happy to be in women's clothes that he skipped down the stairs and met up with Genesis, taking his hand and pulling him over to line up with us. Genesis cried the entire time.

"And Sora will dance with me." Sephiroth said.

"YAY!"

Oh no…

Sora wore a pink and white gothic Lolita dress, knee-high stockings and cute buckle-up shoes. His curly, brown wig nearly fell off as he jumped down the stairs like a child. He flashed a smile and puckered his lips innocently.

"SORA, CALM DOWN!" Sephiroth yelled, grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him back. Once everyone was quiet, he continued. "One thing you must be comfortable with is your own masculinity. Anyone who did not cross dress this week _will_ do so next week. As for you girls, don't laugh because I have plenty in store for you." He paused. "Today we're going to learn how to waltz. Spread out with your partners across the floor and NO funny business!"

How could we be serious in a situation like this? There's a bunch of drag queen-looking men all around me!

And plus, I can't stand Terra.

"Follow my lead." Sephiroth took Sora's hand into his and put his other hand onto the boy's back. "Men, do it!"

Terra refused to look at me as he followed orders. "Girls, put your hands on their shoulders."

I can't believe this.

Genesis was still whining over in the corner with the happy-go-lucky Marluxia.

"GENESIS, SUCK IT UP!"

"Y-Y-YES SIR!"

"Don't worry, darling. Next week you get to be the woman." Marluxia smiled. "Although… you're sort of acting like one now… hehe!"

"I… AM NOT!"

We stepped sideways, forward, backward almost to the point where I got dizzy. Terra was flinging me around like a rag doll, but every time Sephiroth looked our way he changed and pretended to be nice.

Squall spun Zexion around. Zexion stepped on his foot.

"I am SO sorry, that was totally an accident." He said sarcastically.

"Right…" Squall flinched.

And then he did it again.

"That was an accident too!"

Suddenly, Squall felt a sharp pain in his foot. He looked down and saw the heel of Zexion's shoe stomped hard into his toe, all the weight pushing down. Tears formed in his eyes, but he held them back as much as he could.

"Now I know how Rinoa felt…" he sobbed.

Axel twirled around gracefully like a ballet dancer. He was so good at this it almost scared me.

"You've been doing this too long. You've been practicing, haven't you, you little faggot?" Seifer smirked.

Axel smiled and punched him in the face and then continued dancing like nothing happened. As soon as Seifer got up, Axel grabbed back onto him and continued the dance so Sephiroth wouldn't kill them. Seifer's nose sprayed blood everywhere as they resumed.

"You're getting it on my dress!" Axel said.

"Your dress is red, no one cares!"

"But the flowers! You're covering my beautiful flowers with blood stains!"

"Boys, what's wrong?" Sephiroth and Sora waltzed by them.

"Nothing, SIR!"

I wonder about Axel…

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

As Roxas and I danced, I felt a little weird. He refused to look me in the ye for longer than two seconds at a time and kept swinging me harder than he was supposed to. And last time I checked, the boy was supposed to be leading.

"Um, Roxas… are you sure you know how to do this?"

"So I can't dance… so what?"

"You just need to relax…" I giggled.

Roxas blushed.

"Get it!" Axel said as he passed by us. That dress on him was really disturbing me…

"Shut it!"

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

"Sora, keep up with me!"

"Yes, SIR!"

I looked over to my right and saw Genesis still whining like a baby. Seriously, when will that guy learn to grow up? He's like a lost puppy.

As we passed each other, I smacked Genesis' cheek and then pretended I did nothing by turning the other way. Marluxia's eyes widened and Genesis looked at me in shock, holding his hand up to his cheek.

"S-S-S-ir… why?"

"Man up."

"Y-Yes… sir…"

"Don't worry, Chief! I'll man him up for you!" Marluxia grinned.

"HUH? What's that supposed to mean?! And coming from a guy like YOU?"

"Come with me!" Marluxia dragged him out of the room.

"NOOOOO!" Faded away in the distance.

…

Why do I put up with this?

Once again, Sora has failed to follow my movements.

Ugh, I'm so tired of this.

They may be my children, but I hate them sometimes.

"Okay, dance rehearsal is up. None of you are doing it right. You all suck."

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

Sephiroth left us down in the ballroom and went back upstairs. Terra left immediately along with Seifer. Tidus ran off to change out of the dress but everyone else seemed to be having their own little moments.

"ZEXION!" Squall yelled, enraged.

"Yes?" Zexion answered as he examined his red nail polish. He didn't seem to care.

Squall took off his shoe and whacked Zexion in the head with it. "YOU BROKE MY TOE, YOU IDIOT!"

"And?"

Sora and I went over there to break them up, but Squall pulled out some really big weapon and tried to murder him. Zexion dodged the attack and pulled a book out of his pocket, (wait, what pocket?). Squall stopped.

"What the hell are you going to do with a book?"

"Watch and learn."

All of a sudden, Zexion opened the book and a vortex sucked Squall into the book. With that, Zexion sighed, slammed the book and left.

…Sweat… drop…

"WHOA!" Sora clapped his hands like an idiot. "That was amazing, Zexion!" He ran after him.

"Sora! Wait!" I did NOT want the same thing to happen to Sora. Poor boy wouldn't know what hit him. I chased him and grabbed his arm, swinging him back.

"Kairi! Why'd you do that? I want to know how Zexion made Squall disappear!"

Namine fainted into Roxas' arms. This was all too much for her.

"Riku, are you NOT bothered by this at all?" Roxas asked.

"Nope."

o.o.o

We took Namine upstairs to her room and set her on the bed. Riku, Roxas and Sora left and went to their own rooms. About ten minutes later, Sephiroth called us all back down to the ballroom. We decided to leave Namine there and explain later.

Marluxia and Genesis were back, along with Zexion. However, Squall was still nowhere to be found. I gulped as Sephiroth counted us all.

"Where's Namine?"

"She's not feeling well." Sora said.

"Right."

"And Squall?"

"Um… he's sick too." Zexion said. None of us dared to correct him because we didn't want to get sucked into his book.

"Is there something going around?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah." Zexion coughed for emphasis.

"Right… anyway… I have set up one on one interviews for each of you starting tomorrow. The schedule is posted over on that wall. Be in my office at your assigned time; if you're late there WILL be consequences. Make sure Squall and Namine know this."

Zexion took out his book and started writing something down.

"Zexion, what are you doing?"

"Um… memo."

"With all that said, off to bed!"

o.o.o

_Zack's POV_

I knocked on Sephiroth's door and said who I was. He let me inside.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"It's… about Cloud."

Sephiroth gritted his teeth. "Go on…"

"He wishes to see you."

"When? And why do you know this?"

"I've got connections."

"Argh… what time?"

"First thing in the morning."

o.o.o

**A/N:** Review!

o.o.o

_Review Replies_

**Ellie0223:** Yes, Arashi = love! At least someone understands… haha. Sora raving would be the best thing ever, right?

**Echo the Ethereal Swordsmaster:** Lol!

**missmurder16:** Don't worry, I've got plans for Tifa.

**Lenalee:** Well, Rescue is good… and Mr. Brain… and so many other dramas. Thanks for reviewing!

**j1210:** FLT is still on hiatus. Sorry…

**DW64, Scootch4411, Swanna, mUSIC4Life95, SecretAgent99, MsKittyCullen:** Thanks for the review!

**Sora195: **I don't know, guess we'll find out!

**ShadowSpooky:** Yes, I love making Sora hyper. It's so much fun!

**Topaz Tsubasa:** I have friends that don't mind seeing two guys making out. It doesn't really bother me either but I'd rather not see it. Haha. Well it depends on the guys. Hmm. Okay, I'll shut up now. Thanks for the review!

**VergilTheart:** That stuff takes time. :D nice guess, though!


	7. Interviews

**VII**

_Kairi's POV_

I was cleaning up in the kitchen when I heard some voices in the other room. Since I was alone, I decided to eavesdrop just for the hell of it. I poked my head out. Sephiroth was talking to someone; probably one of his clients. I listened.

"This is madness!"

"Believe what you want." Sephiroth said.

"I KNOW you did it, Sephiroth!"

Why does that voice sound familiar?

I couldn't see the other man, but I could see some bald guy with sunglasses in a black tux.

Where have I seen him…?

"Where's your proof?" Sephiroth said slyly. "If we took this to court, how would you expect to convict me without a single spec of evidence?"

"The evidence is piling up… and someday, with my status I will put you away for good! You're nothing but a—"

"The last thing you want is for this to leak out to the public, right?" Sephiroth stated. The man got quiet.

I finally realized who he was speaking to.

I dropped the plate I was holding.

o.o.o

"NAMINE!" I searched all over and finally found her in the dining room.

"Kairi, what's wrong?"

I took a few breaths. "Dad… he's… he's…"

"DAD?!"

I nodded. I couldn't believe it myself.

"Where? Why?!"

"I don't know! He was talking to Sephiroth about something—or arguing rather… but… AHH! I don't know!"

"What in the…"

"What's going on?" Roxas appeared.

"Uh…" Namine and I said in unison. He shrugged.

"Roxas… you wouldn't happen to know why Sephiroth's talking to the Mayor right now… would you?" Namine asked.

"Huh?" He gave us a puzzled look.

"N-nevermind."

I saw Namine's face turn red. Was there something going on between these two?

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

It was time for my interview. I noticed that Sora's was right after mine fifteen minutes later, so the fact that it wouldn't take long relieved me a little. However, I _did_ want to know why Chief was talking to my father…

His room was at the end of the hallway. I felt a bit nervous as I reached for the doorknob. After taking a deep breath, I went inside.

…

Why is it so dark in here??

I can't see my own hands!

(And I freaking _glow_ in the dark…)

A lamp light came on to my left. I jumped. Chief was sitting in a comfortable chair.

"Over here."

I took a seat on the red, velvet couch and faced him. He examined me for a while, scanning me up and down.

"Namine, what are your strong points?"

"Excuse… me?"

He didn't repeat himself, so I just let it go.

"Um… I'm good at cooking…"

"Can you sing?"

"N-not good…"

"Dance?"

"Some…"

Why was he asking me these questions?

"You don't have a lot of confidence in yourself, do you?"

I didn't answer.

"I see."

Was this some sort of therapy session?

"Your role will be decided after everyone has been interviewed. Thank you."

"Huh?" I said absentmindedly, but he merely pointed towards the door.

I walked out of the dark room back into the hallway.

"Okay… that was weird…"

o.o.o

_Sora's POV_

Sephiroth told me to sit across from him.

"I'm not sure what your strong points are, Sora. What do you think?"

"My… strong points?" I asked, a little confused. He nodded. "Well… I think I'm funny…"

"Anyone who _thinks _they're funny isn't funny. Anything else?"

"Oh, come on! You know you love me!"

"That has nothing to do with it."

"So you DO love me?!"

"Sora! Stay on topic!" Sephiroth yelled.

"Uhm… hmm…"

Sephiroth sighed. "What are your talents, Sora? You should at least know that by now."

"Making people laugh."

"No, you're idiotic. What are you good at?"

I could feel him getting angry at me once again, but I didn't really care. I was used to people wanting to throw me into walls or something.

Yeah, something like that…

"OH! I can make clothes…"

"Really?" Sephiroth sat up looking excited.

"…out of spaghetti."

"Sora, be serious!"

"I _am_ serious!"

"Okay…" Sephiroth's eye twitched, "…so… you're… artistic…"

"Yeah! You could say that."

"And an idiot… hmm…"

"Um… maybe?"

"Which also means you're pretty gullible…"

I nodded. "Uh huh… wait a minute!"

"Got it. You're dismissed."

o.o.o

_Axel's Interview_

"My talents are playing the guitar, wrestling, swimming, modeling, drawing, painting, juggling, singing—"

"Axel, stop trying to make yourself sound better than you really are." Sephiroth said.

"So you got me." I smirked.

"You're not good at lying, you probably don't know where you want to go in life and probably confused about your sexuality too. Got it." Sephiroth jotted that onto a piece of paper he was holding.

"Hey! I am _not_ confused!" I argued, but he made me leave.

So he didn't want to know the strong points, but the weaknesses?

I have a weakness. He's five foot five with blonde, spiky hair and beautiful blue eyes.

…

I AM NOT CONFUSED!

o.o.o

_Squall's Interview_

"Squall, where were you yesterday?"

I sat there hugging my knees and shaking. All I could do was shake my head frantically and wimp.

"Answer my question."

"I-I… I was out…"

I never want to go back there…

That… place…

Darkness…

…Everywhere…

"So you act tough but really you're just a little pussy."

"W-What?"

"What happened to your foot?"

"I… stepped on my… own foot…" I answered.

I was scarred for life.

o.o.o

_Genesis' Interview_

"The truth is.. I'm… in love with you."

"What?" Sephiroth gave me an astonished look.

"B-But I'm not gay!"

"But you just said you loved me…"

My heart was racing. Did I _really_ just confess to him??

Besides… technically… he was my father… not really but if you wanted to get _technical_…

AHH! My mind is racing…

These hormones…

This dark room doesn't help…

Papa…

…to…

…kiss…

Don't finish that.

"You're insecure." Sephiroth said to me.

That's another thing I love about him…

"You never had love in your life so since I showed you the least bit of care you're all over me because you don't know any better. I understand."

"W-What?"

"Genesis…" Sephiroth sighed.

"Yes?" I looked into his eyes. Sephiroth stood up and came over to me, kneeling down in front of me. I stiffened. His eyes pierced through me like a knife… I wanted nothing more than to stroke that beautiful silver hair of his…

"Get out of my office."

I was still in a trance when suddenly I snapped out of it and saw him walking back over to his chair.

"Y-YES SIR!"

o.o.o

_Seifer's Interview_

"Okay, I'm here." I crossed my arms and sat back lazily.

"Seifer, do you think you're better than everyone else?"

"Yeah."

He glared at me. Okay, I have to admit, that shit's pretty scary.

Don't mess with the master.

"I think everybody else is useless. I don't need anybody!"

"Tough…" Sephiroth cleared his throat. "Seifer, what would you say you're good at?"

"Fighting."

"And why do you fight?"

"Because nobody messes with me!"

"You seem angry, yet I've done nothing but merely ask you a few questions."

"Psh…" I turned my head.

I really need to control this anger…

Whenever someone talks to me, most the time I just feel like I'm going to explode.

I don't want anyone talking to me, or caring about me or any other shit like that. What's the freaking point of it all?

"I have the perfect thing for you. You're dismissed. Please wait for instructions after all the interviews have ended."

What the fuck is he talking about?

"You'd better straighten up that attitude!" Sephiroth called after me.

I couldn't let him see my fear, so I just kept walking.

Yeah, Sephiroth is the only one I'm afraid of.

…besides Marluxia.

o.o.o

_Roxas' Interview_

I was the last one. Okay, I've been to Sephiroth's _office_ plenty of times, but this time I felt a little awkward. He was staring me down like I did something wrong…

"Roxas, what are your talents?"

"My talents?"

"Anything will do."

I thought about this for a while. I really wasn't sure.

"I guess… I'm good at reading people."

"We have that in common." Sephiroth said.

"It's not much, but I can also, cook and play the tangerine."

"A talent is a talent."

"I guess…"

"You seem unsure of yourself."

"I wouldn't still be here if I wasn't, would I?"

"I guess not." Sephiroth smiled. "You catch on fast."

For the first time I actually felt connected to the master. A little relieved, I was able to ease up.

"Another thing… since we're on the same level…" Sephiroth paused and took a sip of the water he had. "What do you think about everyone in the house?"

"Everyone?"

He nodded. "You're very observant. Please, I would like to know your opinions."

This was a little weird, but hey, he seemed to trust my judgment so that made me feel better.

"Well… I think Sora just acts like an idiot to cover up his pain, Axel doesn't know what he wants, Zexion may be the quiet, badass type but behind all that he's actually a really intelligent guy, Riku acts cool but I think he's… um… I think he's trying to figure out what to do in life at the moment."

"Agreed. Go on."

Huh? He seriously wants me to do this?

"Okay… Reno doesn't like to associate with us, Terra's cool once you get past that barrier he puts up…" I felt like I was saying the same thing over and over again. "Marluxia acts feminine because he wants a sex change, Seifer hates us all, Tidus just wants to have fun… he doesn't seem to care about much else… Genesis is a train wreck… and… I haven't really figured out Zack yet."

"What about Kairi and Namine?"

Namine…

"They're… cool… but I don't know them very well."

"But what do you think of them so far?"

"Um… well…"

"Roxas, do you know why I'm asking you this?" Sephiroth asked.

I was lost now. "Not… really…"

"Hmm… maybe we're not on the same level like I thought we were. But you're not far behind."

"Uh… thanks, I guess."

"Do you ever think about yourself?"

I actually had to think about that one. "Not much."

"And why is that?"

"I… I don't know."

"You're a caring person… but you come across the wrong way. Instead of trying to help the person you put them down."

"Only Sora…"

"Don't you think that's a problem? I think you're scared."

"Scared?"

"Afraid to get close to people, so you distance yourself."

It was quiet.

"You're dismissed."

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

All the interviews were over. We waited in the dining room for Sephiroth to come down; after the interview we had to come here. Roxas was the last one; his seemed to take the longest too.

Sephiroth entered the room carrying a clipboard. We all straightened up and gave him our full, undivided attention.

"From here on out, we're going to start doing some _exercises_. You all have one thing in common—you all need help. I say that with love."

Seifer mumbled something to himself next to me.

"The first task is working together. I have brought some very special guests to the house. They will be staying here for two days. Please welcome, Miss Tifa and her Kindergarten class!"

_WHAT?!_

Aunt Tifa is… a TEACHER?

Twenty something kids came into the room, all noisy, all adorable and all freaking hyper. And there she was… my Aunt Tifa dressed in a flowery blouse and long skirt with glasses and high heels to boot. She looked completely different.

"A-Aunt Tifa!" Namine's jaw dropped.

"See? I told you we had her taken care of!" Sora grinned.

"Kairi! Namine!" Tifa waved. "Can you believe it?"

How did her drunk ass get into the education system?!

"Children?!" Seifer stood up. "Hell no!"

"Ohh! He said a bad word!" One of the little girls shouted.

"SEIFER, see me after this!" Sephiroth yelled. "Everyone, GET QUIET!"

Everyone silenced themselves immediately.

"Now then, you will be split up into groups. Listen carefully."

Oh my gosh… this was all too weird; first my father comes here, then my aunt shows up as a freaking teacher… the thought of her teaching little kids scared me to death…

"Group one! Roxas, Namine, Zexion and Reno."

All four of them exchanged looks.

"Group two will be… Seifer, Riku, Kairi and Genesis."

Oh great…

"Sora, Squall, Axel and Terra are group three."

"Which leaves Tidus, Marluxia and Zack for group four."

"Sir, there's only three…" Tidus said stupidly.

Sephiroth realized this. "Let's just say Marluxia counts as a man _and_ a woman."

"Why are you so mean to me?!" Marluxia wept in the corner.

"Anyway…" Sephiroth turned to the children. "There are twenty-eight children here. Each group must work as a team to take care of them."

Each group got seven children to take care of. Looking around the room, most of the boys were terrified.

"You must get to know your children and never, I mean NEVER… let them out of your sight." Sephiroth said. "Understood?"

"SIR!"

This was going to be one hell of a ride…

o.o.o

**A/N:** Woo! This chapter's done. I went a little light on the humor, but no worries, plenty of craziness will ensue with children around. You can only imagine the possibilities…

**Review!**

o.o.o

**Snowkel:** Haha, thanks! I read your story by the way. Keep up the good work!

**msdramaqueeny:** Glad you like it. I try!

**Angel heart-chan:** Yeah… Zexion is badass like that. Haha. Thanks for reviewing.

**Ellie0223:** Axel's image in a Chinese dress was the funniest thing I've ever pictured.

**melodinami:** Aww, why does everyone hate Riku so much? That's okay… lol.

**robbieXREAPERX:** Reno's got plenty coming in the next chapter.

**ShadowSpooky:** Haha, I hope I didn't give you nightmares… thanks for the review!

**SecretAgent99:** Yeah, girls definitely can cross dress in guys clothes better. That's why I'll do something else.. hehee.

**MsKittyCullen:** Well dang, everyone's hating on Riku! Lol.

_Thanks for the reviews!_


	8. Xemnas and the Three Bastard Children

**VIII**

_Group One: Library  
Roxas' POV_

My eye twitched.

Sephiroth just ordered us to take care of _seven_ children for two days.

SEVEN OF THEM!

They looked up at us blinking curiously. This was very awkward. We all turned to Namine unconsciously because… well… she's a girl.

Thank Kami for women.

(Try telling that to Axel…)

"Why is everyone… staring at me…?" She asked.

"My name is Timmy!" One of the kids blurted out.

"Sarah!"

"I'm Jessica."

"Mina."

"Trevor."

"Harry!"

"I'm Damien."

They were cute… I had to admit… but…

Damien kind of scared me…

I didn't have a clue on how to take care of children.

Namine kneeled down in front of "Damien" and smiled. "Hello, my name is—"

All of a sudden, Damien pulled on her hair and stuck out his tongue. "Hey!" She yelled. Damien ran off along with the rest of them. Freaking out, we all split up to catch the children. Zexion pulled out his book.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Reno yelled.

"I will make them all disappear!" Zexion laughed evilly.

"Damn it, Zexion! You can't do that!"

"Hey! Read us a story!" Harry said.

"Excuse me?" Zexion raised an eyebrow. He was obviously irritated.

"What's in the book?" Mina asked. "Show us!"

They all gathered in front of Zexion, making him extremely uncomfortable… and the rest of us afraid for the children's lives.

"Just read them a story!" Namine demanded.

Wow…

Namine was… great…

"Roxas?" She was talking to me.

"Y-Yeah? I'm here." I felt like an idiot.

"You like her, don't you?" Timmy said, pointing at me.

"What? Hey, shut up you little—" Namine covered my mouth, making my face turn red.

"STORY TIME!" Zexion pulled a book off the shelf. The children sat down on the floor. Namine and I made sure to stand behind them in case one of them decided to run off or something. Reno was also keeping watch, but he obviously didn't like this at all.

"The three little pigs!" One of the kids said happily.

"This is _my_ version. I call it Xemnas and the Three Bastard Children." Zexion smirked.

"Oh no…" I said aloud without realizing it. I gulped.

"The first bastard child, Xigbar built his house out of straw, because he's not very bright."

"Zexion!" Namine shrieked. She probably didn't like the cursing.

Reno stood in the corner of the room and smoked a cigarette.

We had no business being around these kids.

"Continuing on… one night there was a man named Xemnas in desperate need for some hearts. He came up to the Xigbar's straw house and knocked on the door… which doesn't make any sense since it's made of straw but… _anyway_… so he said, _open up, open up, I'm lost and confused_.

"And Xigbar said, _eat my poo_!"

A few of the children laughed. Damien, however wasn't amused.

"And then Xemnas said, _Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow this house in!_"

"_Yeah right._ Xigbar retorted. So with that, Xemnas huffed and he puffed and he blew his house in, proceeding to rip out Xigbar's heart and eat his right eye."

"Gross!" Namine squealed.

"Zexion, what kind of story is this?!" I yelled.

"I like this story!" Damien blurted out. The rest of the children gave him blank stares. Zexion continued.

"I like you, kid." Zexion smiled. "Anyway…"

"We shouldn't let him do this!" Namine whispered to me.

"Namine, do you _want_ to make Zexion mad?"

"N-no…"

o.o.o

_Group Two: Play room  
Riku's POV_

So the kids aren't that bad, but they seem pretty bored. Seifer is ignoring us, Genesis is about to rip his hair out and Kairi and I are just calm and collect.

"Hey, you little brat! What are you doing?!" Genesis shouted.

"Gimme a piggy-back ride!" The little girl named Samantha jumped onto his back.

Kairi laughed at him. A little girl came up to me and just stared at me.

"What?" I asked.

She said nothing, just blinked sweetly.

One of the other children, a boy named Peter came over and pushed her out of the way. "Heather doesn't speak!"

"Hey, you shouldn't do that!" I told him.

"GET THIS CHILD OFF ME!" Genesis ran back and forth across the room with the screaming girl on his back. She was enjoying herself, it seemed, but Genesis seemed to think this was some sort of punishment.

Finally they stopped. Genesis fell over on the floor and tried to relax—big mistake.

The seven children surrounded him. Genesis opened his eyes. Seven pairs of eyes were staring—dead on, not doing or saying anything.

"What is this, children of the corn?! These children are demented!"

"They're in Tifa's class, what did you expect?!" Kairi yelled.

I don't know how it happened, but we started playing dodge ball. Genesis was the target. These kids were pretty good throwers. One kid got a perfect groin shot. I felt a little uncomfortable just watching, but I remembered they were on our side. Genesis was finally able to pick up some balls and fight back.

"THERE! How do you like throwing balls at people, huh?! You like that?" He knocked out one of the kids. Kairi freaked out.

"Okay, that's enough! Ray, are you alright? Speak to me!"

The kid didn't move.

"HE NEEDS CPR!"

"He's just passed out!" I told her.

"DO CPR, DAMN IT!"

"Ehh… wait, WHY ME?"

Meanwhile, Genesis is still chasing children around in the background; the kids screaming in horror as they try to dodge his attacks. Genesis laughed maniacally.

Seifer sighed and walked over to Genesis, stopping him. With that, he punched Genesis right in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Don't try this at home." Seifer then body slammed him, twisted his arm, and did some crazy stuff. The kids were amazed. When he was done beating up Genesis, he stood up and said, "Remember kids, violence is _not_ the answer!" He saluted and walked away. Amazed, the kids followed him in awe.

o.o.o

_Group Four: Outside/Pool area  
Sora's POV_

"WEEE!" I jumped into the pool with my new buddies, Fred and Benny. Axel and I were having a blast.

"Sora! What are you doing? What if that kid drowns?!" Terra yelled.

He seemed unstable.

Axel and I brought Fred and Benny together all in a circle… or… square… or something. Anyway, we gathered together in the pool.

"Okay, here's what I want you to do."

"HEY! What are you whispering?" Terra asked, but was distracted by four other children.

Squall sat against the wall, hugging his knees tightly and rocking back and forth. A little girl named Emma came up to him. He didn't notice her.

She picked up a stick and poked him. "Are you okay, mister?"

"N-no… you don't _know_ where I've been…"

"You're funny!" The girl pointed at him and laughed.

So as Axel and I watched our little minions carry out our evil plan to poke Terra to death, Terra was already having problems of his own yelling out words in French and trying to hold onto his pants.

Fred and Benny joined in and soon Terra was on the ground having a poking war. This was mine and Axel's cue to go over and hold him down.

"TICKLE HIM!"

"YAY!" The kids tickled him. Terra laughed, cried, screamed bloody murder etc.

"MERDE!" Terra yelled in between laughter. Who knew he was so ticklish?

"SQUALL'S TURN!"

"NO, DON'T TOUCH ME!" Squall darted in the opposite direction. All but Terra went after him into the house.

"Come on, don't let him get away!" I yelled. This was fun.

"AHHH!" Squall ran for his life.

"He's such a wuss!" Axel laughed as we chased him.

We passed Sephiroth on our little adventure, who was having tea with Tifa or something. One of the kids knocked over the table and spilled the tea everywhere. Another kid tackled Tifa, making her spill her drink as well all over her white blouse.

"Miss Tifa, are you alright? Here, let me help you…" Sephiroth went over to her. All of a sudden, one of the lamps shattered onto the floor.

I wasn't able to see how pissed he was, but I'm sure he was coming after us.

Three, two, one.

"SORA!"

Right on cue!

"EVERYONE STOP RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Sephiroth demanded.

Nobody dared to disobey.

"I can't believe you came in here and interrupted our _date_!"

"Date?" Tifa asked, confused.

"Uhh… psychiatry term."

"They… they… were trying… to…" Squall couldn't finish. He broke down and cried.

"What are you, three?!" Sephiroth pulled Squall up by his arm. "I DID NOT RAISE YOU TO BE A PUS—BABY!"

"Y-Yes… sir…" He sniffled.

"Geeze… its like the men are women and the boys are men which makes them women too but in a more… where was a going with this?" I asked, losing my own train of thought.

I didn't mean to be sexist.

"We were just playing a game, sir…" Said Jenna.

The kids all looked at Sephiroth with puppy eyes. He sympathized.

"Okay… let's just be a little quieter next time." Sephiroth looked around. "Aren't you missing someone?"

"Terra's too afraid." Axel said.

"Of the children?"

We nodded.

"Pitiful…"

o.o.o

_Group One: Library  
Zexion's POV_

"_Little whore, little whore… let me in!"_

"Not by the hair of my chinny-chin chin! Said Larxene."

"So Xemnas asked, _Why do you have hair on your chin?_ Larxene didn't answer. _Well anyway, I'll huff and puff and blow this house in!_

"_Huffing and puffing will give you cancer, you know._ Larxene told him. With that, he burned down her house of sticks, ripped out her heart and ate it."

"He _ate_ her heart?" One of the kids asked.

"This story is scary!"

All the kids but Damien started to cry.

"Zexion!" Namine pleaded with him.

"If you don't like it, GET OUT!" I yelled. None of the kids moved. They stopped crying. Damien smiled.

I really _do_ like that kid.

He and I get along.

"On with the story. So Xemnas makes his way over to the brick house. _Open this door right now or I'll take your soul and feed it to your dead brother and sister!_ Lexaeus said, _Alright, come down the chimney if you dare._ So Xemnas climbed onto the roof because he had super monkey-skills and could do that and proceeded to fit into the chimney and try to make his way down. However, on the way he was pretty much burnt alive. When he finally entered the house, he was a completely different person. He became something known as… Ansem!"

The children screamed in fear. "What's _Ansem_ going to do now?"

"_Come, open your hearts…_ Ansem said. However, the room was empty. All of a sudden, Lexaeus came out and shot him in the face. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere; all over the walls… the floor…"

"ZEXION, STOP IT!" Namine shrieked. I looked up at her.

"Yes, Zexion. No more of that." Reno said.

"Well… anyway kids… that's the end. This was based off a true story." I said. "It _could happen to you_!"

The children shuddered.

"Is something burning?" I looked around.

Behind Reno was my prized Harry Potter collection—on fire!

"YOU IMBICIL!" I rushed to my book's aid. Reno's cigarette was not completely out. "I didn't even finish the series!" I cried.

"Dumbledore dies." Reno said simply.

"YOU BASTARD!"

o.o.o

_Group Three: Ballroom  
Marluxia's POV_

"Let's play dress up!" I said cheerfully.

"Are you a man or a woman?" This insolent child asked me. I wanted to kill him right there, but I couldn't. Sephiroth would hang me and then discard my body in the river where my body would be put to shame because a whale would come out of nowhere and eat me!

"I'm a man."

That happened to my friend…

So I got the kids to play dress up with us. Tidus and Zack were actually pretty good with children, I noticed. Even though Tidus _hated_ dressing up—which was proven when he cross dressed yesterday (and looked pretty hot might I add) he still seemed to be doing everything he could to please the children… almost like a motherly figure.

He was cute.

Whoa, snap out of it, big boy. There is _no_ way Tidus would ever go for you.

A man can dream…

One of the kids poked me. "Hey, lady! Aren't you going to dress up too?"

My eye twitched, but I kept my composure. "Y-Yes, of course."

o.o.o

_Group Two: Play Room  
Kairi's POV_

The kid finally woke up. The rest of the kids were all bothering Seifer to death; although I was actually surprised at how calm he was being. I mean, they took his beanie and ran off with it, they were messing with his hair, tugging on his arms and legs and basically using him.

Kudos!

"Alright, kids. Let's give Seifer some space." Riku said, separating them.

"They love me." Seifer said.

Genesis got back to his feet somehow. He runs over to Seifer, tackles him to the ground and punches him.

"Stop it!" Riku and I tried to break them up.

They fought dragon ball Z style (literally) all the way out onto the balcony.

"THIS… IS… SPARTA!" Seifer yelled, kicking Genesis over the balcony.

Meanwhile, Sephiroth's walking outside with Tifa on their little _date_. Suddenly he's knocked to the ground.

"Ouch…" Genesis was on top of him.

What a dream come true.

Sephiroth threw Genesis off of him and looked up at the sky. "Where the _hell_ did you come from?!"

"Seifer kicked me!"

"He started it!" Seifer yelled from the balcony above.

"Nuh uh!" Genesis argued. He tried to stand, but noticed a really sharp pain in his left leg. "MY LEG IS BROKEN!"

"Haha! They're worse than _my_ children!" Tifa laughed.

"You don't know how ashamed I am right now…" Sephiroth said with his head down. He kicked Genesis in the back. "Call an ambulance."

"But sir, I can't walk!"

"That's your own problem."

I had a feeling we were in a _lot_ of trouble…

o.o.o

_All groups together  
Namine's POV_

Sephiroth ordered for us all to meet in the ballroom. I was extremely nervous because he didn't sound happy at all. Tifa and the children went home for the night.

"I am now going to give you your _grades_."

"Grades?" Sora said aloud.

"Group one!"

Roxas, Zexion, Reno and I stepped forward.

"I heard that the children wet their pants over your story, Zexion."

Zexion smiles.

"You get a C."

We all stepped back. At least we passed…

"Group two…"

Riku, Seifer, Kairi and… wait, where's Genesis?

The door opened behind us. "Wait! I'm… here!"

Genesis army crawled into the room. It took him about five minutes to make it over to his group.

"You still didn't call the hospital?"

"I don't have a phone, Sir!"

Sephiroth threw a cell phone at Genesis' head. "CALL! But wait until I'm done grading." He cleared his throat. "Kairi and Riku… I give you two B's. Seifer and Genesis… fail."

"F-F-F-FAIL!?" Genesis cried.

"YES! You _never_ land on me!"

"But sir, I couldn't help it!"

"You mean… your wing hasn't sprouted yet?"

"I-I have wings?"

Sephiroth blinked and handed him a red bull.

I wasn't sure why…

"Group Three!"

Tidus, Marluxia and Zack got A's.

"And group four… gets a D."

"WOO!" Sora cheered.

"That's not good, Sora." Axel said, bopping him in the head.

"Alright, listen up! Seems like there's still a lot of tension in this house and a few unresolved conflicts…" Sephiroth looked at Squall. "So tomorrow… there will be something completely different planned for you. Off to bed!"

"SIR!"

o.o.o

**A/N:** Phew! That was fun. **Review!**

o.o.o

_I would do review replies but fanfiction is having so many problems right now I can't see the reviews. (i.e it says "No reviews.")_

But thanks for the reviews and keep reviewing!


	9. Nobodies Have Feelings?

**IX**  
_Sora's POV_

I went out into the garden today to pick out a flower for Miss Kairi. I really wanted to show her that I had a sensitive side. Maybe _then_ she'd fall for me!

White flowers, red flowers, yellow flowers… I didn't know the names of any of them. Guess I'm going to need some help…

And who other than the lovely Marluxia would know what types of flowers there were? Alright! I'm on a roll! So I went and found him and begged him to come outside with me.

"Ohh, well if it's in the matters of _l.o.v.e_… I'd be glad to help." Marluxia winked at me.

It's so great to have another woman around besides Kairi and Namine!

"These are lilies. You should give them to her." Marluxia said, picking some out of the garden. "I planted them myself."

"Ohh… okay!" I turned to go back into the house.

Extremely excited, I ran to my room. Sephiroth told me the plans for the day should be done before seven, so maybe I could actually take Kairi out on a date tonight! I browsed through the clothes in my closet; I wanted to dress up for this little 'asking out' occasion of mine. I wasn't really worried… at the moment.

So I just chose some jeans a white t-shirt and a cool black jacket that Roxas gave me. I grabbed the lilies and hurried up the stairs to where Kairi's room was. She couldn't have still been asleep… it was barely noon! I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"S-S-S…" Okay, _now_ was the time to be nervous. I couldn't get my own name out! I heard her walking towards the door.

Panicked, I ran.

o.o.o

So that day after our chores and such Sephiroth called us into the ballroom. I dozed off for a while, not really wanting to do anything at the moment. I was tired and felt really stupid for earlier.

"Sora and Roxas."

"Huh?" I heard my name.

All eyes were on me. Why did I have to choose this time to not pay attention?

"You two will be partners." Sephiroth said.

"For what? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Another assignment."

"You okay, Sora?" Kairi asked. I froze up immediately.

"Fine…"

So Kairi was paired with Terra, Riku with Tidus, Reno with Axel, and I must've missed something because Zexion had more than one partner…

"Sir, what is this about?" Zexion asked, looking at Squall, Marluxia, Genesis, Namine and Seifer.

"It seems you've been having a lot of trouble with quite a few people in the house." Sephiroth said. "So today, we're going to do something fun."

"What _fun_ could I possibly have with this fag?" Seifer retorted.

"I am NOT a fag!" Genesis yelled.

"Who said I was talking about _you_?!"

Genesis got quiet… real quick.

Sephiroth glared at him. "ANYWAY… first we're going to do what's called a _trust exercise_. One of you needs to stand about three feet in front of your partner with your back facing them… either one is fine. We'll be switching it up."

"Get in front of me." Roxas said.

"For what?" I asked.

"Do it!"

I stepped in front of my brother. I looked over and saw Kairi looking a little nervous in front of Terra. I wanted to help her…

"Sir, where's Zack?" Tidus asked.

"He's out running errands for me. He won't be joining us today."

"Um, sir… how are we going to do this?" Namine asked. She had five other partners.

"I have something else planned for you six. Please wait for instructions."

"Okay…"

"Here's what's going to happen for you groups of twos. The person in front will fall back and your partner must try and catch you."

Groaning was heard.

"When working with a partner, especially one you don't particularly like, you must let down your defenses and put trust in that person."

"Sir, Reno and I are cool with each other." Axel said.

"Axel, I hate to say it, but he's hated you for a long time."

Axel gasped. "Is that true?!" He turned to Reno.

"You've been my little follower since you got here. For God sakes, you took my face-painting idea and died your hair the same color as mine! You're nothing but a fucking emo poser version of me!" Reno spat out.

"So the truth is told…" Axel sighed. "I see how it is…"

"There you go again…"

"That's enough!" Sephiroth demanded. "All but Zexion's group, spread out in different areas across the room."

Roxas and I went over to the corner of the room away from the others.

"The group of six, please go into the kitchen for now."

We watched as Namine, Zexion, Marluxia, Genesis, Seifer and Squall left. Sephiroth then went around and made sure we were the correct distance apart. He came over to Roxas and I.

"I know you two have had plenty of issues. During this exercise, I want you to think. What is it about the other person that irks you? Roxas, tell me one thing about Sora right now that you don't like."

"He plays around too much." Roxas said.

"And Sora, what's something about Roxas you don't like?"

I thought about it for a minute. "I think he's too serious."

"Ever since you two have come here, I've noticed it to be a lot deeper than that. While we're doing this, please think about it. There will be a small private discussion with me after all these exercises are finished to reflect. Please wait until I say start."

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

Terra hates me and I hate him. Not only that, he has to _touch_ me!

"Sir, I don't like this at all. Can't we do something else?" Terra begged. "I don't want to be anywhere near this filthy girl!"

"Filthy?!" I snapped, ready to break his neck.

"I don't even know why you let her stay here. She's worthless!"

Honestly, I didn't know why Sephiroth took Namine and I in either, but he had no right to say any of those things. I wanted to get out of here, now.

"Who knows, being in each other's arms you might think differently." Sephiroth smirked.

"EH?!" We both yelled.

"I can't hold her! She looks heavy!" Terra said. His French accent was coming out again.

"WHAT?!" I smacked him.

…Then he smacked me back.

I gasped and held my hand up to my face. "How dare you hit a woman!"

"You're _not_ a woman!"

My face reddened. ARGH! He pisses me off!

"Stop it!" Sephiroth said. "Prepare for the exercise, now."

"I'm not catching her!"

"I'm not falling!"

"I don't trust you!" We both said at the same time.

"You're already reading each other's thoughts. There's a start." Sephiroth winked. "Now get quiet and do what I say or I'll throw you both in the choky!"

"The choky?" I asked, but Terra straightened up quickly. I figured it was bad so I got quiet and obeyed.

Sephiroth went to the front of the room. "Ready?" He paused for a moment. "Go!"

I hesitated before falling over. I could hear Terra mumbling behind me. Finally, I closed my eyes and just let myself fall back.

I landed right on my ass.

Terra crossed his arms and whistled. "I told you."

"Asshole…"

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

Okay, despite how much he annoys me, I would never let him fall. Sora needs me and he knows it. Argh… but he's such an idiot! I don't know what the hell happened to his intelligence or why he has ADHD moments half the time… sometimes I just wish he could be serious for once! Life is a game to him and--

"Ow!"

I looked down to see Sora had already fallen.

"You were supposed to catch me…"

My face reddened. "S-sorry… I…"

And now he's going to whine.

"Wahhh!"

Why do I have to always treat him like a child?!

Riku had caught Tidus successfully, however, they parted quickly not wanting to be near each other. Riku was way too stubborn and Tidus was way too carefree.

o.o.o

_Axel's POV_

I fell backwards. I felt two hands come in under my arms and catch me. I kept my eyes shut.

_Roxas…_

Oh, how I wish he was holding me…

"Open your eyes, you idiot!" Reno pushed me.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

As the six of us sat in here waiting for Sephiroth, I was feeling a little strange around these guys without my sister around. Genesis glared at us all, Seifer was texting constantly, Squall was crouched up in the corner sucking his thumb, Marluxia was giving himself French braids and Zexion just sat there quietly with his eyes closed. The door opened and Sephiroth walked in.

"You six will follow me outside. I have a friend that will help you."

We went outside to the pool area with Sephiroth. "Your bathing suits are over there with your names on them. Of course, Namine you have a separate stall to change in. Today you will be doing some swimming exercises with each other."

"I don't swim." Zexion said.

"Well, today you will." Sephiroth said calmly but firmly.

"I hate the water."

Suddenly, Sephiroth got a serious look on his face. He put up his hand and snapped his finger. Out of nowhere, a man with badly gelled blonde hair came with a huge bucket of water and poured it all over Zexion.

"AHHH!" Zexion screamed.

"DO YOU LIKE WATER NOW?!" Sephiroth yelled.

"Y-YES SIR! I GET IT ALREADY!" Zexion shivered.

"Who's that guy?" Seifer asked, pointing to the water dumper.

"This is my good friend, Demyx."

"Hey, guys!"

Demyx wore nothing but red shorts and had a whistle around his neck. "Now I believe Mr. Sephiroth here gave you guys… and lovely lady an order, so chop, chop!" He blew the whistle as loudly as he could, damaging our ears.

I went to change into my bathing suit; luckily Sephiroth didn't choose anything revealing for me to wear… just the same, simple white one-piece I wore before. I grabbed the pink towel that was in the stall. It had my name on it. I felt kind of special.

I went out and met up with Sephiroth and Demyx by the pool. Squall and Marluxia were already there. Seifer came out and stood next to me. He had green swimming trunks on and a cap.

"You don't need the cap." Demyx told him.

"Maybe I don't want to get my hair wet."

"Or _maybe_ that hair isn't _real_. I've often wondered why you're always wearing something on your head." Marluxia giggled.

"What did you say, you little fag?!"

"Seriously, is that the only insult you know?" Marluxia said. "I know who I am; you don't have to remind me, dear. Trust me, honey, I _know_ real hair." He winked.

"How do I look?" We were interrupted by Genesis—in a blue Speedo.

"Dashing." Marluxia said.

"Gross!" Seifer said. Squall and I just tried not to look at him. Genesis seemed fine with the speedo and was blushing in Sephiroth's presence. How cute.

Sephiroth checked his watch. Now we were all waiting on Zexion. After what seemed like forever, Zexion finally came out of the stall with his cloak still on.

"Zexion, why didn't you change?"

"I did."

"Take off the cloak." Sephiroth said.

"No."

"Zexion, if you don't do what you're told…"

Zexion unzipped his cloak and threw it aside. I nearly busted out laughing.

"Hello Kitty trunks?!" Genesis laughed.

"Don't judge me."

"Another lesson about feeling confident in your own skin…" Sephiroth trailed off. "Anyway, that's only part of the fun."

"How in the world is this FUN?!" Zexion yelled.

"Zexion, you've been the reason behind a lot of the disputes lately. It's only natural that I punish you the most." Sephiroth said. He clapped his hands together twice and the rest of the people in the house came outside. They all sat down at the tables. "They will be your audience. I have hired Riku and Kairi to take pictures. We're going to hang them up on the walls in the ballroom once they're developed."

"Mother fu—" Zexion was cut off by Demyx.

"Now then, in the water!"

Squall jumped in first, followed by Marluxia, Genesis, then Seifer. I was always slow about getting into a pool, especially since I still wasn't good at swimming.

"Go on, Namine." I heard Riku's calm voice behind me. He held a camera. "If anything happens, I'm right here."

"Don't know how to swim?" Demyx got in between us.

"Uhh… no…"

"No worries! Your partners will guide you along the way."

I looked in the pool and saw Seifer trying to drown Genesis. Marluxia was trying to break them up.

I can't do this.

"Actually, Namine you don't have to do anything. I only put you in this group because I didn't know what else to do with you. You've been pretty good." Sephiroth admitted. "Everyone, I want you to follow this young lady's example!"

"You want us to be completely naïve and run away from everything?" Zexion asked.

Demyx pushed him into the pool.

"AHHH!"

Marluxia went to _save_ him, completely forgetting about Seifer and Genesis.

"Don't… TOUCH…" Zexion splashed in the water uncontrollably. "H-H-…." Zexion sank under the water; bubbles came up to the surface.

Sephiroth sighed. "Demyx… please get him."

Demyx dived into the water and brought Zexion up to the surface. Zexion coughed and looked up at him. I wasn't sure what happened next, but there was a sudden silence. A few moments later, Zexion jumped out of the pool and ran away, leaving Demyx there.

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

I ran to the bathroom.

I feel so… so… wait, I'm not supposed to feel but yet…

Who is this _stranger_?!

The image of Demyx kept popping up in my head. I blushed. Looking into the mirror at myself, I brought my hand up to my face and touched it.

No… I don't have feelings… what _is_ this?!

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

So as I took pictures of these fools, I was actually having fun. Lately these guys have been starting to feel more and more like family somehow. Even though they all had their own share of problems, somehow I knew that they all cared for each other very much.

Oh, who was I kidding… most of them wanted to kill each other.

"Hey, Kairi?" Sora came up to me with his hands behind his back.

"Yeah?"

"H-Here." He handed me a bouquet of white lilies.

"Oh… Sora! Thank you! This is so sweet!"

Just then, he ran back inside.

He was so adorable.

After about another hour of the other group getting on Sephiroth's every last nerve, he finally said that was it for the day. It was nearing four o'clock and we were all tired already. I went to my room and put the lilies in a vase next to my window. They were beautiful.

I decided to turn on the TV and see what was on. As I was flipping through the channels, I saw my father on the screen in a suit making some sort of speech. Disgusted, I decided to watch him just for the hell of it.

"And that's why I will bring Sephiroth down with whatever means possible. I have waited too long and have been keeping this from all of you, but it was time you knew. Sephiroth… is a murderer!"

"What?!" I sat up. What was he talking about?

"He is dangerous and should be put away!"

I dropped the remote.

o.o.o

_Reno's POV_

I heard the doorbell ring. Who on Earth would be coming here so late at night?

Roxas stood on the other side wearing really weird clothes.

"Dude, what are you doing?"

"Excuse me?" Said Roxas. His voice was a little different. "Anyway, my name is Ventus. I have come here to see your master, Sephiroth."

"Whatever, Roxas."

"That's not my name…"

"Look, I don't care about your little _identity crisis_. You're really wasting my time." I slammed the door in his face.

Damn kids.

o.o.o

**A/N:** Woo! There we go. End of chapter. Yay!  
Check out my new story, Crack Obsession.  
Feels Like Tonight is currently in the works.  
And just so you know, Demyx **will** be back.

**Review!**

o.o.o

_Review Replies_

**TinaalovesMints:** OCD means Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Thanks for reviewing.

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**TornAngelWings:** Yeah, because a SephirothxTifa pairing isn't crazy at all… lol…

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Thanks for all the reviews!!


	10. Grandpa Vexen

**X**

_Kairi's POV_

I walked into the library only to find Zexion dancing around the room with a book and singing some crazy love song. If that's not enough, he was also wearing nothing but swimming trunks and acted as if the book was his partner.

"I thought emo people weren't supposed to be happy." Sora came up next to me.

"Emo people smile too!" Zexion said. He saw that we were both watching him with strange looks on our faces and blushed severely, then tried to use the book to cover himself.

"If you tell _anyone_ about this, I _swear_ you'll be sorry." He slammed the book shut, making us jump.

"Hey, Kairi!" It was Olette.

"Oh my gosh, you're still alive?" I said absentmindedly.

"Yeah… I'm confined to this library so Zexion is the only friend I have."

"I'm not your friend." Zexion snapped.

"Your life sucks." Sora said.

Olette's eyes watered. "I hate myself!" She ran off.

I wanted to follow her, but Sora stopped me. "No. She does this all the time. Why do you think Sephiroth makes her stay in the library?"

"Um… I'm not sure. Why?"

"She's a maniac depressive."

Those were the biggest words I've ever heard Sora say. "But wait, don't you mean manic depressive?"

"Maniac, manic, what's the difference?" Sora grinned. "I hear she's bi-polar too."

I wasn't even going to try.

Sora and I left the library and headed out into the hallway. We saw Sephiroth walking towards his room.

"Yo, master! What's crackin?"

What on earth was up with Sora today?

"You're going to be _crackin_ if you don't leave me be."

I then remembered my father's speech on national television. Enough was enough; I had to talk to him about it.

"Excuse me… sir?" I said quietly.

You have to admit, Sephiroth was one intimidating mother fu--

"Yes?"

"Do you think we could… talk in private?"

He nodded. "Follow me to my office." Sephiroth turned around and walked down the hall. I hesitated before going, but eventually got around to going after him.

Sora came too.

"Not _you_, idiot." Sephiroth said to him.

"Oh." Sora pranced off.

"Please don't tell me you're interested in that boy."

"Um… I think it's wearing off." I said, not really sure.

Sephiroth opened his door and we stepped into his _office_, so he likes to call it. He went over by the window and looked out of it. "Well?"

"Um…" I was so nervous I was starting to sweat. If what my father was saying was true, that Sephiroth truly is a murderer… who knows what could happen to me. What if he didn't want anyone to know? What if he killed anyone that did know? That sword on the wall was becoming even scarier… I cringed just thinking about it. "I don't know if you know already… but…"

"Is this about Cloud Strife?"

"Uhh… y-yes…" I paused. "How… do you know him, sir?"

"We have… a history."

And apparently a not so good one…

"May I ask… what _kind_ of history?"

"Why are you so curious all of a sudden?"

Answered a question with another question… how annoying…

"I… saw the news."

"You have a TV in your room?"

I gave him a blank stare. "Yes…"

"I've done research on Cloud Strife. He's not everything he says he is."

"Trust me, I know."

"I also know he's your _father_." Sephiroth paused. "I know things about people they don't even know theirselves."

"What… do you mean?"

"All the boys in this house, I know where they come from. I know who their parents are, etc."

"But… they don't?"

"It's best not to tell them."

I really wanted to get to the point. "Anyway… my father said… that… you…"

I couldn't finish my sentence.

"That I…?"

"He said you were a mur… murderer…"

Sephiroth was quiet for a moment. And then he smirked in the creepiest way possible. I took a few steps back.

"Are you afraid of me, Kairi?" He walked towards me. "Do you _really_ believe the one man that ditched you and your sister so long ago?"

He had a good point, but I had a feeling my _father_ wouldn't be going to all this trouble for no reason. There must be _something_ going on… he wouldn't put his reputation on the line like that…

"And what if I was a murderer? How would that change your perspective of me?"

A whole hell of a lot…

There was a knock at the door. "Sir, someone's here to see you."

"Ah. Bring them in."

"I should… go…" I said.

"No, stay."

I see someone that looks very similar to Roxas walk in and take a deep bow.

"Ventus, it's so nice to see you again. I've been expecting you. This is Kairi, Cloud Strife's daughter."

"Hello…"

"Nice to meet you." He had a very calming voice… almost like a prince.

Okay, that comparison was a bit… much, but it was all I could think of at the moment.

"You're very beautiful. It's a shame to have that man's genes."

I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not, so I just decided to go with it. I noticed Ventus was holding a yellow folder in his right hand. He gave it to Sephiroth.

"He wants to see you in court."

"Court?" Sephiroth laughed. "That man never quits… does he?"

"From what I've observed, he's been building this case for the past eleven years. I don't know, he's got a _lot_ of stuff against you, sir. How are you going to—"

"Ventus?" Sephiroth interrupted him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"Not at all, sir. I know you'll be alright."

"Your actions say otherwise. You look nervous."

"Well… it's just… he's a very powerful man…"

It's been eleven years since he abandoned us. A little bit before that, my mother died.

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

"I can take care of myself." Sephiroth said. "Anything else?"

"He might be shutting this place down."

"It won't happen. He has no right. We are out of the city limit."

"That doesn't matter. Cloud has a way with words…"

As much as I wanted to hear this, I also just felt very uncomfortable. I wanted to leave, but I was afraid Sephiroth would _murder_ me if I moved one inch.

Without warning, the door busted open and Genesis came running in like a baby.

"Daddy, Seifer tried to poison me!"

"He's lying!" Seifer came in.

Irritated, Sephiroth tried to calm himself in front of the guest.

"He gave me a Pepsi! He would _never_ give me anything! He was trying to kill me!" Genesis cried.

"Excuse my behavior, Ventus, but this must be done."

He then proceeded to knock Genesis out, making me gasp.

"No worries, sir." Ventus said.

"Now then… I am freaking TIRED of all the bullshit in this house!" Sephiroth yelled. "Seifer, take Genesis to his room and lock him in there. And heed my warning… if this happens again, your heads will become trophies on my wall! OUT!"

"Yes sir! I'm sorry!" Seifer dragged the unconscious Genesis out of the room.

"I guess that's my cue to leave." Ventus said. He bowed. "I will come back with more information. In the meantime, are Terra and Zack around?"

"Zack is still out, but Terra is here. You may see him if you wish. Stay as long as you like."

"I must also meet this Roxas fellow everyone talks about."

"Til next time. Please escort Kairi out."

"Yes, sir." He held the door open for me. "After you, miss."

"Thanks."

As if being around a Roxas replica wasn't weird enough.

Sephiroth still never answered any of my questions.

That pissed me off.

I bid farewell to Ventus and decided to go outside where Sora, Axel and a few others were. They were talking to the new guy, Demyx. Zexion was at the door hiding.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Zexion froze. "Fine! Leave me be!"

"Whatever." I went outside and joined them.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hey there, pretty lady." Demyx greeted. My second _compliment_ today.

Namine was over at the table talking to Squall and Marluxia. It looked like a serious discussion, so I didn't bother. I did want to tell her about everything that just happened, but it'd have to wait. Besides, I'm not sure how she'd take it. Knowing her, she'd freak out.

I decided to mess with Axel.

"There's a Roxas replica walking around." I winked.

"Wh-what?! Really?" Axel's face lit up with excitement. Without another word, he ran into the house in search of the Roxas look-alike.

"You know, I think he likes my brother." Sora shuddered.

"What about me?" The real Roxas appeared from around the corner.

"Axel's in love with you." I said.

Roxas twitched. "Damn it… don't… remind me…"

"Aren't you in love with Namine?" Sora said loudly, making everything awkward. Namine looked at us from the table.

"Idiot!" Roxas hit Sora upside the head.

Axel came back in a flash, glomping Roxas to the ground. "Oh, my little Roxxel… I missed you so!"

"Roxxel? What the hell is that?! Get off of me!"

"That's our names… combined!" Axel giggled. "Isn't it cute?! R-o-x-x-e-l. Got it memorized?"

Roxas sighed. He knew he couldn't do anything about Axel's obsession with him.

We heard some noises in the bushes over by the fence. Stopping what we were doing, we all looked in that direction. I was a little scared.

Axel and Demyx went over there slowly to check it out; Demyx freaked out halfway and ran back to us. All of a sudden, a man with long, blondish hair and a long black cloak like Zexion's jumped out.

"Wait a minute… GRANDPA VEXEN?!" Axel yelled. "I THOUGHT I KILLED YOU!"

"Oh shit!" The man ran off.

Roxas' eyes widened. "Vexen?! That pedo?!"

"Pedo…?" I questioned.

Roxas gave me a very nervous look. I didn't think I should ask anymore.

"Why would you kill your grandpa?! You're sick!" Sora yelled.

After a few minutes, Axel returned once more, out of breath. His hands were stained red.

"Oh my gosh!" I screamed.

"Why didn't Sephiroth tell me he was repainting?! Damn it!" Axel sat down.

"Wait, what about…?" Roxas asked, still freaked out.

"Oh, he's dead."

I gasped.

"I'm just kidding. I got rid of him, though."

That's it. These people are fucking crazy.

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

"_That man is a murderer and should be put away!"_

I turned off the TV and threw the remote down. How dare he…

He knows what happened.

And he also should know…

This was so long ago. Why does it affect me so much? Why am I letting this bastard of a mayor get to me?

Just because I had an affair with his wife…

…doesn't mean I killed her.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

I was talking getting some _advice_ from Marluxia and Squall about relationship matters. I didn't know who else to talk to besides my sister. Plus, I wanted a male's perspective… if Marluxia even counts for that…

"I think Roxas is such a sweetheart." Marluxia said. "You should go for it."

"But… what about Riku?" I said shyly.

"That's just a crush, hun."

"I don't think Riku is your type." Squall said. "He's way too serious."

"Riku's the strong, manly type." Marluxia sighed.

"You mean the type you like?" I asked. Marluxia nodded.

"But he'd never go for a guy like me. Trust me, when you're gay you just know who would get drunk and have a one night stand with the same gender. Riku's not one of them."

I let out a courteous laugh. Marluxia was truly something else. I say goodbye to them and walked inside the house. Roxas was standing there by himself with a coke in his hand just staring at some painting on the wall of an angel.

"Hello." I said.

"Hey."

We stood there in silence for a moment just staring at the picture.

"Sometimes I wonder… what my mother was like." Roxas said.

"Oh… what happened?"

"I don't know who my parents are."

"Oh…"

I started to think of my mother. Man, I sure did miss her…

"What about you?" He asked.

I hesitated, a little surprised he would ask. Just before I was about to say something, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"I need to talk to you, NOW!" It was Kairi.

"W-wait a minute!"

She took me all the way up to her room and shut the door. There was something bothering her.

"Cloud is all over TV saying that Sephiroth is a murderer… and that he'll shut this place down."

"What?" My eyes widened.

"Yeah. I don't know what's going on… but…"

"What should we do?"

Kairi thought for a moment. "We could… investigate. Sephiroth wouldn't mind if we left the house… would he? Maybe we can visit that bastard one more time…"

"Are you crazy?! He hates us!"

Kairi shook her head. "Argh! This just doesn't make sense! Maybe Sephiroth knew about everything so _that's_ why he let us stay here… in a house full of boys… but…"

"There's got to be more to the story." I said.

"No shit."

I excused her cursing. "_Anyway_, seeing Cloud won't make things any better. It's not like he _wants_ to see us."

"True… but…" Kairi paused. "Before mom died, he was the best father in the world and you know it."

"Seems like her death changed everything."

"I guess…"

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

Don't make a fool of yourself… don't make a fool of yourself…

Demyx was coming this way. I hid the bouquet of flowers behind my back. He was _actually_ coming to the library…

"Oh, hey Zexion… that's your name right?"

I froze.

"Are those _flowers_?" Axel grabbed the flowers out of my hand. "Hey Demyx, I think these are for you." He handed them to him. I wanted to strangle Axel right at that moment, but I couldn't do it.

"Flowers?" He gave me a confused look.

"N-no! Why would I give flowers to a GUY?! Psh…" I snatched them away. I saw Olette over in the distance and rushed to her. "Here. This doesn't mean we're _friends_."

She fainted.

"Okay then…" Demyx shrugged and walked off with Axel.

What a failure…

o.o.o

**A/N:** Well, that's it. What will happen in the next chapter? I wonder myself…

o.o.o

_Review Replies_

**DW64**: Yes, Ventus is awesome. How could I not?

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**ShadowSpooky:** Not _everyone_ will turn gay, but I did put a warning at the beginning that there will be Yaoi incidents. I think it adds to the humor.

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Thanks for all the reviews!


	11. Happy Birthday, Sephiroth

**XI**

_Kairi's POV_

I woke up this morning not feeling too well. I had a headache and was coughing a lot. I could barely stand without falling over; I felt really lightheaded.

"Take some Tylenol." Namine said. She rinsed a wet rag for me and put it on my forehead. "This might help some."

"Thanks…" I got back underneath my covers. Namine left the room and went downstairs to do her chores. She was going to tell Sephiroth that I was sick; hopefully he'd understand.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

Sephiroth didn't seem to mind that Kairi couldn't do her work today, in fact he was caught up in a completely different issue.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAMISAMA!"

Sora pranced around the room singing the happy birthday song. Sephiroth's eye twitched.

"You little—"

"It-it-it's your… _birthday?_" A very in love Genesis asked as he kneeled down before him with bubbly eyes. "Why didn't you say so?"

Sephiroth mumbled something to himself and then said clearly, "Sora only knows because—because…" He couldn't seem to finish.

"Because that one time when you were with that one guy he said it was your birthday and then—"

Sora was smacked across the head. "We will _not_ speak of that time, you hear?!"

"Yes sir…" Sora's eyes watered.

"Since it's already out there, yes, it's my birthday."

"How old are you?" Sora asked. He was ignored.

"Ohh! In celebration we should treat our master to a night out!" Marluxia said happily. "Where would you like to go?"

"Nowhere." Sephiroth said. "I don't do anything for my birthday."

"NONSENSE!" Sora jumped up and ran over to Marluxia. "What did you have in mind??" He asked eagerly.

Sometimes I wonder how Sephiroth doesn't even seem to scare Sora one bit…

"I know… let's go out to eat!" Marluxia proposed. "As a family!"

"No." Sephiroth turned around.

"Oh, come on! You're always telling us to be nice and bond with each other yet you don't want to be around us?" Sora said.

"I have my reasons."

"Come on, sir… let's go out for a change. We can all dress up and go out to dinner."

"Who's paying?" Sephiroth asked.

It was quiet.

Riku, whom I didn't know was there until now, spoke up. "We'll all pitch in."

After a long awaited response, Sephiroth finally accepted. "Get back to work." He left.

I was left to clean the hallways and the kitchen. Riku decided to hang around me for a bit just to keep me company. There were plenty of silent moments, making me feel really awkward.

"So um… what are you planning on doing in life?" I asked.

"I want to be a rock star." He said.

"I… see."

"I'll move out of here eventually… the only reason I've been staying lately was… well… because of Sora… and you."

"Me?" I looked up at him. Riku stepped towards me, staring directly into my eyes. I started to blink a lot out of nervousness. I couldn't go anywhere; I was backed up against the wall. "R-Riku…" He was nearly five inches from my face and then…

He moved away and sighed.

"I can see it in your eyes. You're in love with someone else."

"Ehh?"

He smiled. "That's alright. You weren't my type, anyway."

…

So straightforward of him…

Riku walked towards the kitchen door stretching his arms out. "Ahh… Sora's a trip, isn't he?"

I was still kind of focused on what just happened. "Uh… oh, yeah."

He left the room. I returned to scrubbing the floors. The door opened again.

Oh, it was just Genesis.

…wait, why was he crying?

He noticed I was in the room and quickly wiped his eyes, trying to cover it up. "What… what are you doing here?"

"I'm… doing my job. Is there something wrong?"

He didn't say anything; instead he just broke down and cried. I ran over to him and tried to comfort him. Strangely, he let me.

"He just doesn't understand…"

Oh dear… not _this_…

"Sephiroth took me in when I was a boy… ever since then I've looked up to him and wanted to be just like him… I would do anything for that man… every day I make sure to polish his shoes, wash his clothes, bring him meals and how does he treat me? Like… like…"

"Maybe… you just come across in the wrong way…" I said.

"Huh?"

"You pretty much just throw yourself at him… from what I can tell, Sephiroth doesn't seem to like affection, despite being a psychiatrist or whatever." I paused. "Is he _really_ a psychiatrist?"

"Of course he is!" Genesis sobbed some more.

I couldn't believe I was listening to a grown man's problems in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"I want him to at least show me the least bit of care…"

"Doesn't he do that already?"

"Huh?"

"He's letting you live here. He gave you a nice place to live along with clothes and food. I think that's his way of showing you he cares… because if he didn't you wouldn't be here, right?" I wasn't sure what I was saying.

"I… I guess so…"

"So even though it's not the way you think affection is, that's just Sephiroth's own way of—"

"Don't call him that!"

"But… you did."

Genesis blinked a few times and then stood up. "This conversation never happened."

o.o.o

I went upstairs around noon to check on Kairi. She had given me her key, so I could just walk in. She was sleeping soundly in her bed when I got there, so I just left her alone.

"I've got a lovely bunch of…" Sora was walking down the hall when he spotted me. "Oh, hey!"

"Hello…"

"What's going on?" Roxas appeared. "Is Kairi alright?"

"She's sick." I told him, blushing. Roxas was wearing a red, unbuttoned shirt and his hair was wet. I looked away.

"Kairi's sick?!" Sora repeated. "Aww…"

Surprisingly he didn't try to bother her.

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

Ahh, finally some quiet time.

The children went crazy when they learned it was my day of birth. I've kept it a secret for the past ten years or so; it was going to have to come up eventually, I suppose. That little brat just didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Anyway, I had other things to take care of today. Zack had finally returned and was waiting for me outside.

"Sir, the Mayor is waiting for you." Zack bowed and opened the door for me.

I'm glad Tidus found this guy. Zack has been an undercover investigator for some time now overseas. I heard about him through the underground society. However, he's not known to many people here and Japan and can change his appearance however he wants to.

We arrived into town. Huge gates opened as we drove in; the officer standing there checked us first and made sure we had nothing life-threatening. We got out of the car and were escorted inside, up the stairs and to a very extravagant hallway. We came up to a door.

"Mr. Mayor, he's here."

o.o.o

_Genesis's POV_

"What are you doing?" Marluxia asked. I jumped at the gay man's presence.

"None of your beeswax!" I tried to hide the picture I was drawing.

"Is that a present for the master? Let me see!" Marluxia grabbed it from me. "Ohh!"

"Hey! You bastard! Give that back!"

"I think you need to make his hair a little darker… you went a little too light on the gray. Plus, I'm loving the field of flowers! So colorful!"

"Those aren't flowers…"

"Hmm?" He looked at it closer. "Than what _are_ they?"

"They're children, okay?!" I snatched it back. So I couldn't draw… so what?

Marluxia sighed and just sat there for a moment looking a bit disappointed. He stared at me, making me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"What?" I said finally.

"You really need to work out more, sweetie. Afraid you're getting fat. You might have to start throwing up again."

"WHAT?!" I lifted my shirt and looked at my gut, pinching the fat and wiggling it around. "OH MY GOD!"

"Yup!" Marluxia stood up. "No cake for you tonight; I'll be sure to let the master know. Bye bye!"

I need to hire a hit man.

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

Cloud sat lazily with his feet up on the desk. He was obviously not happy to see me; but why should he be? I expected nothing less from my worst adversary.

"Well?"

"So I guess you've heard… I told everyone what you did. The whole town will soon know who you _really_ are, Mr. Psychiatrist." Cloud said.

"Same to you." I said.

Cloud shot up, enraged. "You bastard!" He stomped over to me and grabbed my collar. "You… you took her from me! She was all I had!"

"Sounds like a personal problem."

"ARGH!" He pushed me back against the wall. I remained calm. This little pipsqueak couldn't hurt me. "This isn't over… I _will_ kill you!"

"Is that a threat?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You'd better bet it is..."

"You're one dirty mayor."

Okay, so that came out wrong, but oh well.

"For eleven years…" Cloud drifted off.

"How are your daughters doing?" I asked, knowing it would piss him off more.

"My…" he looked up at me, astonished. "What did you do to them?!"

"Why would you care if I had any business with them or not? Didn't you abandon them after Aerith died?"

He couldn't answer me.

Cloud was a really unstable man. I wasn't worried one bit.

"If you do _anything_ to them…"

"Just thought I'd let you know, they're currently living with me. They hate you."

I could rip this guy to pieces if I wanted to. I think I'll let him suffer for a little while longer. I was at least going to wait until everyone moved out of the house and was off to a good start before finishing him off. Unlike him, my children came first.

"What the hell are you trying to pull?!"

"Oh? Do I sense some jealousy? You should really watch your temper. At this rate, you could lose your money, your credentials… imagine if the entire town knew the truth."

Cloud charged at me, but Zack got in between us just in time, holding him back.

"It's not worth it, man!"

"Hold your tongue, Sephiroth…" Cloud glared at me. "I will send a warrant for your arrest."

"With what evidence?" I scoffed.

He had nothing to say. Just then, my phone rang. It was from the house. I sighed and answered it.

"Yes?"

"Sir!" It was Axel. "Sora set the kitchen on fire, Zexion and Squall are fighting, Squall broke his foot again, Kairi's on her death bed, Roxas drowned in the pool and Reno locked me in my room!"

I hung up on him. "Sorry about that. Looks like I need to be a _father_, unlike you."

"THIS ISN'T OVER!"

o.o.o

_Axel's POV_

I tried busting my door open a million times but I just didn't have the strength.

…Maybe _fire_ will work…

"KYAA!"

Just then, the door opened. I saw my precious little Roxas get hit with the flame right in front of my very eyes.

"ROXXEL!" I rushed to his side, holding him in my arms. "Are you okay, baby?!"

"Don't…" he coughed, "call me baby…" He had 3rd degree burns on his arm.

"CALL AN AMBULANCE! Don't worry my love, I will save you!" I picked him up against his will and rushed down the stairs. All of a sudden, I tripped and Roxas flew out of my arms and we tumbled down the stairs together. I landed on top of him—our lips touching.

Sephiroth busted open the door. "IS THE KITCHEN ON FIRE?!" He looked down and noticed us there. His eyes widened.

"It's NOT what it looks like! OUCH!" Roxas pushed me off of him with his good arm and screamed.

Sephiroth blinked a few times. "I saw nothing!" He hurried off.

Roxas lay there crying and yelling out every curse word he would think of. Above us, Genesis was walking around and noticed what I tripped on.

"SORA, what did I TELL you about taking Sephiroth's Power Rangers out of his room and leaving in the middle of the floor?!"

"You tripped over the blue ranger?! How dare you!" Was heard in the distance.

I suddenly had the urge to kill that little boy, but there were more important matters at hand. The love of my life was screaming at the top of his lungs in pain. I had to get him to the hospital no matter what it took!

"What happened?" Genesis came down the stairs.

"HE TOOK MY KISSING VIRGINITY!"

"Shut up, you liked it!" I yelled, carrying him once again out the door.

o.o.o

_Marluxia's POV_

So with Roxas and Kairi in the hospital for different reasons, we still decided to celebrate the master's birthday. We all decided to go to Olive Garden, my favorite place in the whole wide world!

We got a huge table. Sephiroth made sure we minded our manners as we got situated.

"Sora, get your feet off the table, Seifer take your hat off, Zexion, don't read while you're eating—"

"My food hasn't come yet." He said as he peeked over his book.

"Don't get smart with me!" Sephiroth looked beside him and saw Genesis' hand on the table. He picked up a fork and stabbed it as hard as he could, making Genesis squeal like a little girl. "You all need to learn better table manners!"

A waitress came over to us. Sora immediately stood up and said, "Today's Master Sephiroth's birthday!"

"SORA!" Sephiroth yelled.

"Would you… like us to sing to him?"

"YES!" Sora exclaimed.

Sephiroth's eye twitched. The waitress took our orders and left.

"Axel, are you alright?" I asked.

"My little Roxxel is hurt… I wanted to be there with him."

"So go. No one's stopping you." Sephiroth said.

"Really?!" His face lit up.

"No one's going to pick you up." Seifer said.

Sephiroth picked up a knife and chucked it at him, missing by an inch.

"OKAY, OKAY! I'll pick you up! Just call me!"

"Sephiroth is so violent!" Sora said happily.

"ANYWAY," I started, "Sir, Genesis has gained some weight. I'm afraid for his health. We should reduce his rations."

"Is that so?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. Genesis got up and ran off crying. We could hear vomiting in the background.

"I'll go hold his hair for him." As I got up to run for him, I heard Sephiroth loudly clearing his throat, telling me to stay. "Or… I'll just sit back down…"

So our food came and we all ate quietly; it wasn't really as fun as I had imagined it. So Sora and I went towards the back to get all the presents we had stashed there earlier that all of us got for Sephiroth. We carried them back.

"Present time!" I said happily.

"Aww, you guys shouldn't have." Sephiroth said sarcastically. "No, _really_, you _shouldn't have_."

I ignored him. "The first present is from Terra." I handed him the medium sized rectangular box. He opened it, seeing it was a butcher knife.

"So you took a knife from the kitchen and put it in a box?" Sephiroth said to him. "How _thoughtful._ Either way, it's useful." He gave us all the death glare.

"You're welcome."

"The next one is from…" Sora pulled a small pink bag out of a bigger bag. "Hmm, there's no name… oh well. Here!"

Sephiroth opened the bag and pulled out a pink bunny with a red bow around its neck. He says nothing.

"Who the hell got him a stuffed rabbit?" Seifer asked, disgusted. Zexion's eyes darted around the room as he covered his face with the book and blushed.

"It's name is Kumagoro…" he mumbled.

"Okay…"

Axel got him a lighter, I gave him a calligraphy set, Namine knitted a scarf for him, Riku gave him some cologne noting that it was for his next _date_ with Tifa, and Tidus brought him some band aids from Bologna.

"My present is really awesome." Sora said, holding something behind his back. "Actually, I have two presents. Here's the first one." Sora handed him a stick. "I found this in the backyard this morning. I hope you like it."

"This is the best present ever." Sephiroth said dryly.

"REALLY?" Sora jumped up and down like a child, then proceeded to give him a big hug.

"MY BUBBLE! GET OUT OF MY BUBBLE!" Sephiroth yelled.

"That was my second present. I love you, daddy!"

"Awww!" I said. "How sweet! How can you turn that down, sir?"

Genesis finally came back. "I just lost three pounds!" He said proudly as he sat down.

"You're still fat." Seifer said.

"Genesis, don't you want to give Sephiroth his present?" I asked.

"It's… not finished."

"Good, I finished it for you!" I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to Sephiroth. Genesis' eyes shot wide.

"What's this?" Sephiroth looked at the picture and sighed. "Genesis, let me tell you something right now…"

"Y-Yes?"

"Stop pursuing me. You need to find a _woman_ around your own age that will love you and cherish you the way you should be loved and cherished."

Genesis merely cried.

"There, there… you'll find her… or him… someday." I patted his back.

"Seifer, how about your present?" Axel asked.

"I didn't get him anything."

"Thank you." Sephiroth said quickly. "You're smart."

"I didn't either. Sorry, sir." Reno bowed. Sephiroth noticed the alcohol bottle in his hand.

"Reno, you have a drinking problem."

"I do not!"

"The sooner you accept it the sooner we can fix it."

"Yes sir…"

So after we were done with all the presents, we waited for our to-go boxes in silence. Sora suddenly felt like he had to be the center of attention once more.

"Hey, guess what, guys!"

"What?" Namine answered.

Sora paused for a moment. "You _all_ just lost the game."

o.o.o

Zexion decided to drive us all back. I was sitting in the passenger's seat next to him.

"Zexy, dear… you should really slow down…"

"Who is this creep? He's right on my ass!" Zexion yelled. I didn't know he had road rage. It's kind of sexy. Zexion sped up. "If you want to pass me then do it already!"

Blue lights suddenly shined on top the car behind us. "SHIT!" Zexion yelled as he slammed on the brakes and pulled over.

"Zexion!" Sephiroth yelled from the back of the limo.

The officer walked up to the front of the limo and knocked on the window. Zexion rolled it down. "Is there… a problem?"

"Sir, do you know how fast you were going?"

"About eighty five. Why?"

"License and registration, please."

We gave it to him and he walked back to the car. Once he was out of earshot I said, "Zexy, would you flirt with a cop to get out of a ticket?"

"Hell no. Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure that cop is gay."

"Why don't _you_ hit on him?!"

"You're the one that was pulled over, hun." I smiled.

After a few very uncomfortable moments for Zexion, the cop comes back. "So this is your first offense so—"

Zexion tilted his head and batted his eyes flirtatiously at the officer. "Could you please let me off, Mr. Officer? I _promise_ it will _never_ happen again…"

"Zexion, what are you—" Sephiroth yelled from the back.

The officer smiled at him. "Oh hell, you're cute… I'll let you off… if…" he trailed off. "Wait a minute!"

Zexion acted quickly. He clutched his chest with both hands and spoke in the most dramatic feminine voice he could, "Ohh… I've never gotten a ticket before… I don't want to go to court… I don't have the money… I'm _soo_ scared…"

I tried my hardest to hold back from laughter.

"What do you mean you don't have the money?" The officer checked out the limo we were in.

"Please, Mr. Officer… I'll do…" he paused, "_anything_…"

The officer actually looked like he was going to sympathize with him for a moment, but said, "Uhh… no."

"MOTHER FUCKER!" Zexion reached for his book and the officer disappeared in a flash.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST DID THAT!" I screamed in the passenger's seat, moving as closely to the door and away from him as I could.

"Zexion, is everything alright up there?" Sephiroth asked.

"Everything's fine!" Zexion raced off.

That was the scariest shit I've ever seen…

o.o.o

**A/N:** If anyone finds the Gravitation reference I'll give them a cookie. Review! (The 200th reviewer will get something awesome)


	12. Peter the Russian Communist

**XII**

_Kairi's POV_

I was feeling much better that night. I don't know how I got so sick but it must've had something to do with that drink Genesis gave me yesterday. Roxas and I came home from the hospital.

Anyway, Namine and I have really been wondering about Sephiroth and our father and what was going on between them. It was time to find out. We headed down to his room. It was late, but we figured he'd still be awake. We were both nervous, of course, but enough was enough. We had to go in there and _demand_ to know what was happening.

Easier said than done.

Sephiroth opened his door and stared down at us. Did I ever mention how freaking tall he was? Almost seven feet in height, towering over my puny little sister and I.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk to you." I said firmly, but my fear still showing. Namine hid behind me as we walked into his office for the third time.

"You still want to know what your father and I are fighting over?" He said unenthusiastically, pacing around the room. "Okay, I'll tell you. Your mother is dead, right?"

Did he seriously just bring her up?!

"Y-yes…"

"Well, he thinks I killed her."

My heart skipped a beat.

"The truth is… before you two were born… and even after…" He paused for a moment, "I had an affair with your mother."

"WHAT?!" Namine screamed. "But… but… wait…"

I covered her mouth; I didn't want her to say anything stupid. This man could kill us in a second if he wanted to.

"That doesn't mean… you're…"

"Your father? Hell no." Sephiroth sat down. "Sorry, Cloud is your real father."

I was glad and disappointed at the same time, but I still couldn't believe it.

"I met your mother about twenty years ago. She was having some problems and she came into my office one day. This was right when I was just starting out as a psychiatrist and didn't have much experience. However, she confided everything in me. She and your father were having a lot of problems. For the next year and a half, our relationship grew stronger. We were like best friends. Cloud became jealous. He wanted to intervene somehow, but the man she claimed to have once loved was long gone."

"Bastard…" I said aloud without realizing it.

"He left for weeks at a time, always saying they were work related. I was the only one there for her…" Sephiroth shut his eyes and tried collecting his thoughts. I could tell he really cared about my mother, no matter how creepy it was.

This was affecting Namine so much that tears were rolling down her face. Back when she and I were kids, she was closer to my mother than I was. They would always play together; my mother would fix her hair and dress her up; throw her birthday parties, etc. But don't get me wrong, my mother loved me too. I just didn't like to do the things she and my sister did. To tell the truth… I was closer to my father…

"After you two were born, Aerith would tell me about how difficult it was to raise you two by herself. Cloud was always working. She didn't seem to mind though, she knew it was only so he could put food on the table. However, there was a deep sadness in her eyes every time." Sephiroth said.

He looked at us; Namine was sobbing behind me with her head down. My eyes watered a little bit, but I couldn't let Namine see me. I had to be strong for her.

All these things Sephiroth was telling us came as a shock to me—I remember my dad as a very loving father. When he was at home… which I knew wasn't often, he would always play with us. I had no idea how much fighting my parents did because they never argued around us. My mother was always keeping things to herself. I was too young to understand anyway. However, when she died… everything changed. My father went insane. Like Sephiroth said, he did drink a lot. Whether he did that before her death… I didn't know. But it was like he just didn't care anymore—not about himself, us, or anyone else.

However, _somehow_ he became mayor. How the hell did that happen? I don't know. The town loved him. One day, he had this speech. The entire town was there. Aunt Tifa brought us to it, but she left us alone for a little while.

_Flashback_

"Thank you for voting for me! I am honored to be here!"

The crowd cheered. Namine and I were in the front, looking up at our father. We hadn't seen him in a while; he had been so busy and always came home after our bedtime and left before we woke up. However, we were just as excited as everyone else.

"Girls, I'll be back. You stay right here, okay?" Tifa said. "Kairi, protect your sister."

I nodded and watched her run off. Cloud continued to speak about all the things he would do for the city and whatnot; I wasn't really paying attention. All of a sudden, Namine ran towards the stage.

"Daddy!" She said happily, interrupting his speech. Cloud looked down at her, confused. Strangely, none of the bodyguards did anything about the disturbance. I hurried up on the stage. I knew my father didn't like what she just did.

"Excuse me? Where are your parents, little girl?" The crowd, including me, gasped. "Can someone please take care of these children?"

Of course the town would have no idea we were his children. Cloud didn't talk about his personal life.

"What? But daddy…" Namine started to cry.

Cloud bent down and looked at us. "Look, I am not your father. I'm sorry. Please go home."

I will never forget those words.

End of Flashback

Sephiroth looked out the window. "You can do one of two things."

"Hm?"

"You can choose to hate him forever, or you can forgive him and move on. I don't say that lightly."

"How can I forgive him?!" I yelled.

"But let me say this," he turned around, "If you choose to hate, you'll never get anywhere in this world."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Please go to bed. It's late."

We had no choice but to obey; that sword on his wall was freaking me out. I had to force Namine to move, but eventually she started walking on her own. We both separated into our rooms and went straight to bed.

However, I couldn't sleep.

_'He thinks I killed her.'_

That sentence alone…

"Mom… I miss you…" I cried myself to sleep.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

For the next couple of days, Kairi and I weren't very happy. The guys tried cheering us up plenty of times, but nothing worked. Kairi lightened up a little bit today, but I still couldn't stop thinking about what Sephiroth told us. I knew my mom was murdered… but by _him_?!

I think he did it…

"Namine, it's your turn." Roxas nudged my shoulder. I didn't know how, but they somehow managed to get me to play Monopoly.

"And now… I'm playing… monopoly…" Axel typed quickly on his phone.

Roxas won. I didn't really want to be around anyone, so I went upstairs to my room. A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door.

"Who is it?"

"Roxas. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I lied.

He waited a few moments before responding. "Okay then. Just checking."

Part of me wanted him to say he didn't believe me and continue to ask me questions, but he just walked away. I sighed and fell back onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

"I had the weirdest dream last night." Sora started, "I was fighting a thousand monsters, and then after that I ran up onto this huge cliff thing. This guy told me to keep killing them; that instead of helping the world I was only helping him grow stronger. Doesn't that suck?"

"Um… I guess so?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think you understand! I _helped_ an Organization by killing a thousand monsters! I feel like I just _contributed_ to the community!!" Sora yelled.

"What's wrong with that?" Zexion appeared.

"It… was just a dream…" I said.

"Anyway, I just felt like everything I had done up until that point was… for nothing…"

"Right…"

"Argh! It just pisses me off!" Sora stomped out of the room. Lately he's been having some anger issues…

I looked towards Zexion, who was watching me as I watched Sora. I knew what he was thinking.

"Don't worry. I don't like him like that anymore."

"Good."

Night time approached. After dinner, everyone went off and did their own thing. I washed dishes. After what seemed like forever, I was finally done. I turned off the kitchen light and locked the garage door. A full moon shone through the window.

I decided to take a walk around the house by myself since I just felt like it. Everyone was or should've been in bed by now. As I walked through the silent hallways, it really gave me some more time to think about what I'm going to do next. Should I take Namine and leave the house? I really felt like a part of the 'family,' despite how crazy they all may seem. Even though Sephiroth claimed to have nothing to do with my mother's death… somehow I felt like he cared more for her than my real father did. It was just… weird. I didn't understand it myself.

I heard some giggling coming from Terra's room. Being the nosy person I am, I went over and put my ear against the door. He was speaking in another language, but I listened anyway.

"Me veut tu?" He said in a deep, mysterious tone. "_Tu me fias chaud. Jet u veut tout nu…"_

I had no idea what he was talking about. Just as I was about to walk away, his door opened and he was standing there in nothing but a bathrobe, holding a phone to his ear.

"What are you doing?!" He asked, enraged.

"I'm sorry, your little _phone sex_ session was so loud I could hear it all the way out here." I said sarcastically. He blinked a few times.

"How did you—" He paused, glared at me once more and slammed his door. I could hear him ranting in French to whoever was on the phone. I went up to my room and went to bed. That was weird.

o.o.o

_Reno's POV_

I got up and went outside to get the morning paper like always. I retrieved it from the mailbox. Just then in the corner of my eye, I saw someone hide behind one of the bushes in the distance. Were we being _watched_?

"Come out!" I demanded, rolling up the newspaper and using it as my weapon. (I had nothing on me but my bathrobe and blue bunny slippers, so shoot me.) Nothing happened. I marched over to the bush and found Roxas… or that guy that looked like Roxas. I grabbed him and threw him onto the ground. He had a camera around his neck and was holding it closely. There was also a backpack over to the side. "What are you doing? Huh? Are you a stalker?"

"N-no!"

"What's with that camera?!" I took it out of his hands and started looking at the pictures. I saw a few of me coming out of the house just now to get the newspaper. In a rage, (and a slight hangover) I was about to throw the camera down and smash it, but he stopped me.

"Wait! Please don't! It's just my job!"

"Maybe you should get a better job!"

So he ran off. I immediately informed the master about this.

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

Later that afternoon, Sephiroth got us all together in the ballroom for our next assignment.

"I'm going to test your intelligence." He said.

"Well, I'm out. Meet up with you guys later." Sora was about to walk off, but Sephiroth stopped him.

"Anyway, I've split you into groups. Group one is Tidus, Genesis, Squall, Namine and Seifer. Group two is Axel, Sora, Kairi, Marluxia and Terra, and group three is Zexion, Reno, Roxas, Riku and… Demyx."

"WHAT?!" I yelled.

"Is there a problem?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

Demyx wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "We're going to work together, buddy! Isn't that great?" My face went extremely red, so I put my hood up to hide.

"Alright. I've got some worksheets here. Each group will work together to finish it." He passed out the worksheets to each of us. "You will have two hours. Get started and no talking to people in other groups. Your worksheets are not the same."

Marluxia raised his hand. "Sir… mine's in Spanish…"

"So learn Spanish." Sephiroth walked off, leaving us all alone.

I looked at the paper. There were fifty questions; each section was a different subject. First was science.

"Question one…" Roxas read. I cut him off.

"You don't have to read it out loud."

"We're a group." Reno argued. "Let him do it."

"Oh, I forgot. You're illiterate." I shot back. "Go on, boy."

"What are the molecular compounds of water?"

"I KNOW THIS ONE!" Demyx raised his hand. Usually I would tell any person that did that to shut up, but he was… special. "Hydrogen and Oxygen. H2O!" He yelled cheerfully. "Dance, water dance!"

"Number two... what are the molecular components inside a Type G star?"

We all went blank. Demyx tapped my shoulder and whispered into my ear. "Hey… you're the smart guy, aren't you Zexy? Don't you know?"

I couldn't take it. My nose bled and I fell to the floor.

"I don't think that's the answer, dude!"

o.o.o

_Genesis' POV_

"Everyone knows girls can't do math!" I shouted. Suddenly, a book hit my head. "WHAT THE—" I saw Namine fuming at me from across the table. "OW! Wait, isn't that Zexion's book? Where the hell did you get it? And why do you throw so hard! Girls can't throw!"

She chucked another book at me. I look down and saw it was my Loveless. How the _hell_ did she get that?!

"Just stop talking." Seifer said and sighed. "Let's hurry up and finish. I've got some soaps to watch."

"You watch soap operas?" Namine looked delighted.

"General Hospital… duh." Seifer looked down and noticed Squall hiding under the table. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Is Zexion's book gone?"

Seifer picked up Zexion's book and threw it at him. Squall screamed and ran out of the room.

"Okay so five divided by sixty nine plus twenty two minus the square root of nine…"

"It's forty one." Namine said in a flash.

I blinked. She continued to glare at me.

"That's right." Tidus said.

o.o.o

_Marluxia's POV_

This is really hard! I don't know Spanish!

"Kumo… aystasey?"

"Como estas!" Sora corrected.

I stopped and looked at him. "You know Spanish?"

"I do?" Sora said stupidly.

"You just said a Spanish word!"

"I did?"

"Nevermind! Where did you learn that?"

"I have a pet Chupacabra. His name is Jose. He teaches me everything. Quien es tu papa? Hola! Mi cama es tu cama! Yo quiero taco bell!"

I threw my paper at him. "Do my homework! I'm taking yours!" I snatched it and screamed when I saw the writing. "Sora, why are you answering these Spanish questions in Russian?! What the hell!"

"Peter wrote that."

"Who the hell is Peter?!" My blood was boiling.

"My imaginary friend. He's a Russian communist!" Sora said proudly. "He told me to write that."

"What did you write?"

"I wrote about the rise of Lennon!"

"What does that have to do with Spanish?!"

"I don't know. But Peter says its cool."

"PETER DOES NOT EXIST!"

"YES HE DOES! You just can't see him!" Sora started patting the air. "It's okay, Peter…"

Were we really fighting about this?

"Anyway…" Kairi broke in. "I'm done with the Spanish part."

"Let me copy your answers, miss." I said.

"Hell no."

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

I regained consciousness only to find Demyx on top… of… me…

"Dude, are you okay? I tried to resuscitate you!"

Nose.

Bleed.

"You should really get that checked out." He got off of me.

"Your rooster's out." Riku said.

"W-what?" I looked down. "I… have to go."

"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" Axel snickered from the other group.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

Sephiroth came back into the room. My group was finished with our work.

"Is everyone done? Please hand in your papers."

Marluxia raised his hand once more. "Sir! Sora won't stop talking to nothing!"

"Peter's a somebody unlike you!"

Kairi covered her mouth and gasped. "Ohhh…."

Marluxia pulled out his Scythe and slashed towards Sora, missing of course. Sora jumped back in shock.

"YOU KILLED PETER!" Sora broke down and cried. "Peter! Peter's dead! Peter's dead and its ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"I… hit… nothing…"

"PETER HAD A HEART, UNLIKE YOU!"

"Just rub it in, why don't you…" Axel said.

Sora ran out of the room crying. Nobody followed him.

Sephiroth sighed. "That's it." He walked over to Marluxia, grabbed him and dragged him away.

"Ooh, Sir, aren't we aggressive today? Sir… where are you taking me?" His voice faded. We all watched until they disappeared. Genesis crossed his arms and huffed.

A few moments later, screams of bloody murder were heard. Sephiroth came back, but Marluxia didn't. I'm… scared…

"Anyone _else_ have anything smart to say?"

"N-no…"

"From now on, there will be consequences for your actions."

We didn't see Marluxia for the rest of the day…

o.o.o

_Sora's POV_

I dug a grave in the backyard for Peter. I just don't understand why nobody understands me…

"Hey, Sora." Kairi appeared. She was holding flowers. "I know… Peter… was very important to you, so… here."

"Thank you…" I sniffled.

After the burial was done, we just sat outside and looked at the stars. "Kairi, let me tell you something that my father told me…" I said in a serious tone.

"Okay…"

"Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars."

"What?"

"So whenever you feel alone, just remember those kings will always be there to guide you…" I paused. "And so will I."

Kairi nodded slowly, got up and walked off. "Good night."

I fell asleep outside that night. R.I.P, Peter.

R.I.P.

o.o.o

**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if you don't know Spanish or French, you can just look up the translations. It might help.

Review!


	13. I Wanna Play a Game

**Quick A/N:** So I hope this story cheers people up… as one person said. It really makes me feel grateful to know that its at least worked for one person. Thanks for all the support!

Here's the Halloween special! This chapter is extra long!

o.o.o

**XIII  
**_Kairi's POV_

We're spending Halloween night in a place called Halloween Town.

I was really excited. The costume that Marluxia made for me was freaking awesome. He said it was based off of a girl he met a long time ago named 'Aqua' or something. Oh well. This costume was badass.

Namine wore a very interesting nurse outfit that Marluxia _promised_ would blow everyone away, and as promised, it did. Roxas couldn't take his eyes off of her and I think I even caught Genesis and Zexion looking once or twice. Perverts!

"KAIRI!" Sora jumped out in front of waving his hands eagerly. "Do you like my costume??"

He was none other than Jack Sparrow.

Actually, he looked kind of adorable. But… I couldn't get the kid's hopes up…

Lately I've actually been trying to avoid him, but he continues to follow me around like a lost puppy. I'm done feeling sorry for him. He'll _never_ change!

"It's… okay. It doesn't suit you though." I said, cursing at myself because I didn't mean it. I just wanted to get him off my tail.

"Huh?" Sora blinked a few times. I walked past him and over to Namine.

We had just arrived here in Halloween Town about an hour ago. It was a little chilly and creepy, but like the awesome kind of creepy. There were pumpkin lanterns that lit up the streets, a fountain that green stuff came out of in the middle of the town and even a spooky forest.

So as the rest of the guys tried to get used to Marluxia's _wonderful creations_, as he put it, we all settled in around the fountain. Sephiroth went up to the fountain and faced us.

"Now then, I want you to be on your _best_ behavior. Make me look _good_ here."

"But Sir, you already look—"

"Genesis, what did I tell you?"

Genesis hung his head down. "Don't pursue you anymore…"

"Right. Now then…"

"SIR!" Sora raised his hand. "I have a question!"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Where will we sleep?"

"If you're lucky, in a tent."

"Seriously?!" Terra stood up. "I will not do such a thing!"

"Me neither!" Marluxia said. "I need my beauty sleep in a nice bed!"

"Stop it!" Sephiroth yelled.

"Ohh? Is that my pal?"

A tall, very skinny skeleton man stood behind Sephiroth. Scared out of his wits, Sora immediately found some stick and charged towards him, hitting him obsessively, (but not doing any damage) and yelling, 'die! Die!' over and over.

Sephiroth yanked Sora away and held onto him. "SO sorry about this _child_!"

"No worries." Said the man. "So these are the wonderful boys and girls you've been talking about? They all look so scary!"

Sephiroth nodded and sighed, still trying to hold Sora in one place. "Yes. Kids, this is…Jack Skellington."

"He's evil! I can smell it!" Sora struggled to break free.

"It's a great smell, isn't it?" Zexion smirked.

"Hold on a second." Sephiroth picked Sora up, flung him back… and then…

He freaking threw him.

Up in the air.

So high that we couldn't even see him anymore. Sora's scream faded…

"I'm sorry. Go on." He said.

"So we're going to do a little Scavenger Hunt!" Jack said excitedly. "You're going to work in pairs of your choice and search for as much candy as you can find! Whoever gets the most—"

"Isn't that a bit childish?" Zexion interrupted.

"Not in Halloween Town. Trust me, this is no children's game. Now then… pair up!"

As much as I wanted to pair with my sister, I also wanted to give her and Roxas a chance to get closer because I _knew_ she liked him. However, that would only leave me with Sora… who hasn't come back yet…

"Would… you like…" Roxas approached Namine. Yup, I knew it. "…to be my partner?"

"Y-yeah… okay…"

"ROXAS?!" A very depressed Axel hung over his shoulder.

"You can't be around me all the time!" Roxas said.

"Why don't you be Kairi's partner?" Namine suggested. Axel looked over at me and shrugged.

"Fine, whatever."

I accepted as well. Working with Axel… this should be interesting.

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

I saw Seifer laughing at my costume.

Too bad I couldn't hide my book in this thing… or he would've never known what hit him…

"Hey, fairy boy!" Seifer said, laughing up a storm. Marluxia was _nice enough_ to give _him_ a decent costume, leaving _me_ with this fucked up Peter Pan costume.

I'll kill him for this.

"I thought you looked bad enough as an emo sissy, but a gay fairy too?"

Keep laughing. You'll see.

I looked around. Everyone seemed to have already found a partner.

"Hey there, Zexion!"

D-D-Demyx?!

"Let's be partners!" He patted my back really hard.

"Uh-Uhm…" I didn't have time to respond. Blood started trickling out of my nose once again.

"Does everyone have a partner?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes!"

"Alright then. Let's get started."

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

So each team was given different maps to follow, which didn't really make much sense to me. Axel took the lead and started walking off; he didn't seem very happy to be paired up with me but I knew why. It was better than being teamed up with an idiot.

"So our first destination is… this curly hill place." Axel looked around. "Wonder where that is."

I followed him just admiring my surroundings. This was actually a very spectacular place, I thought. Imagine Halloween being every day. Wait, I wouldn't want that. But it's still awesome though.

"Stop." Axel paused. "Did you… hear that?"

"Hear… what?"

We heard a scream getting closer and closer. Looking up, it was none other than Sora. I screamed and begged Axel to catch him.

"Why should I?"

"AHHHHH!" Sora landed face-first in the ground. Some blue furry thing with big ears popped out from under him and scurried away. Sora immediately rose up and said, "Wait! Come back little alien friend!" Axel grabbed him.

"Ohh, no you don't. You're not going anywhere, little buddy."

"But… but…" Sora saw me and calmed down.

"Sora… are you… okay?" I still couldn't believe he survived that fall. I was tempted to hug him, but…

…then he started to cry.

My goodness…

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

Wow… Namine and I are… partners…

And she looks so beautiful…

"Roxas, are you staring at my chest?!"

"W-what?!"

_Shit, I must have been unconsciously looking down!_

"UGH!" Namine stomped off.

"W-wait!" I was about to go after her, but was stopped by three little children. They were the ugliest children I had ever seen.

"Hey!"

All of a sudden, one of them threw something at me. It exploded in my face. They snickered and ran off.

"HEY!!" I yelled. Namine ran over to me.

"Are you okay?"

I was so glad she was wearing that nurse outfit. It really made the situation a lot better somehow.

"I'm… fine…"

Damned kids.

"Roxas, I think I found something!"

"Hmm?" Namine was next to a gravestone inspecting it. I went over to her. There was a box behind the gravestone with our names written on it. "Step back… I don't want you to get hurt if anything happens…" I said, gulping. I reached for the small brown box. When nothing happened, I slowly opened it.

"What's in there?" Namine asked worriedly.

BOOM.

"DAMMIT!" I screamed.

o.o.o

_Marluxia's POV_

"EW GROSS!" I jumped. There were bugs everywhere. I absolutely HATED bugs!

"What's wrong now?" Riku, my partner asked irritably. He saw bugs crawling away from me and sighed. "Look, let's hurry up and find this candy, okay?"

"Oh ho ho ho!"

"What… was that?" I hid behind Riku. What a strong young man he was turning out to be… he could protect me!

Some weird, fat sack guy with stitches all over his body appeared in front of us. Behind him was a pot filled with candy. "Looking for _this_?"

"Yeah, who are you?" Riku asked.

"I'm the one and only, Oogie Boogie! BOO!"

Riku didn't flinch, but I cowered behind him. That was one ugly piece of shit!

"Whatever. Look, I'm not in the mood right now." Riku said.

"NOW!"

All of a sudden I felt something grab me. A white sheet was thrown over Riku and I and we were trapped underneath. I screamed for my life. Riku cursed up a storm beside me. We were lifted onto some moving wagon thing and had to listen to horrible singing as we struggled to break out of these sheets. I'm scared!

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

"Hey, what's that over there?" Axel pointed. There were some weird looking kids pulling a wagon up the Curly Hill. Axel and I hid behind a gravestone and watched.

"HELP ME!" We heard someone that sounded like Marluxia scream.

I gasped and covered my mouth. "Axel!" I whispered desperately. "We have to save them!"

All of a sudden the hill _curled out_, so to speak. The kids walked across it happily. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

o.o.o

_Marluxia's POV  
_  
"WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?!" I screamed from under the sheet.

This was a bumpy ride. They continued to chant as we went up a hill.

"We're going to make a virgin sacrifice!" One of the children yelled.

Riku and I both blinked and exchanged confused looks.

"What virgins?" We asked.

The wagon stopped.

"We've got the wrong ones, you idiot!"

"It's not my fault, I thought the one with pink hair was the girl that Oogie Boogie was talking about!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?! I AM NOT A GIRL!" I was ignored.

"NO, he meant the girl in the pink DRESS! But _you_ had to—"

As they continued to argue with each other, Riku pulled a knife out of his pocket.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT EARLIER?!" I yelled. Riku shushed me and sliced the sheet open.

"Come on…" He whispered.

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

So Demyx and I still hadn't found any blasted candy and I was getting really impatient. Demyx bent over at what he thought was something and I… stared.

"Aww, it's just a rock…"

"Maybe it's… rock candy!" I joked.

Okay, that was corny, I know.

"What?" He turned around and looked at me.

"Let's just—"

I felt something pierce my neck. I looked down it was a tranquilizer dart and before I knew it…

I woke up in a dungeon.

Demyx was banging on the walls screaming. My head hurt.

"What… are you screaming at?"

"We're locked in here!" He grabbed my collar.

That's when I realized… Demyx and I were alone… together… in a dungeon for… who _knows_ how _long_…

"Why are you smiling?!" Demyx yelled. "This is a _bad thing_!"

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

We walked around this really creepy graveyard. Namine stayed close to me.

I'm starting to wonder if there's even any candy at all.

We heard a loud screech over in the distance. Namine shrieked. "Stay here… I'll go check it out…"

I had to be brave for her. I had to show her that I wasn't afraid…

I had to be a man…

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

I was standing there by some dead tree as he went on ahead. I started humming a song to myself. Suddenly, I felt a hand wrap around my face.

"Do you smell the chloroform?" A child's voice said behind me. That's when I passed out.

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

I found out there was nothing over here. I sighed in relief and turned around.

"Um… Namine?"

She was gone!

o.o.o

_Axel's POV_

Kairi, Sora and I walked around the Square. This map was leading us nowhere.

"I want some candy!" Sora whined.

"Will you shut up?" Kairi said.

"Kairi, why are you being so mean to me?" Sora sniffled.

"Hey, quiet down." I said. I heard something.

I walked over to the fountain and looked around. All of a sudden I felt something clamp hard onto my leg. I screamed as I looked down in horror. It was a bear trap!

"AHHH! HELP ME!"

"AXEL!" Kairi and Sora ran over to me.

"I wanna play a game..." Said a low, creepy voice.

"WHO'S THERE?" I yelled. The pain was excruciating.

A man with short blonde hair and a goatee appeared. Beside him was a kind of cute little shadow monster holding a boom box that was playing some very familiar horror theme music.

"If you play your cards right… you can get out of the trap. It's up to you…"

"WHAT?! AHH!" I looked around for my friends. "THEY'RE GONE! WHAT THE F—"

"I would suggest you decide quickly. Eventually you'll bleed to death."

"STOP PLAYING AROUND!"

"It's your call…" He faded away.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

Sora and I ran as fast as we could. Sure, we felt bad for Axel but… that guy was creepy. I wasn't about to get myself killed!

"Kairi! We have to go back!"

"_You_ can go back, I'm saving myself!"

"Hey!" Riku and Marluxia ran towards us.

"What happened?" Riku asked.

"Axel is trapped!" Sora said. "We have to save him!"

"Guys!" Roxas appeared as well. "Namine! She's gone!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled. "Where'd she go?"

"I… I don't know…"

"You know… those kids _did_ say something about sacrificing virgins…" Marluxia said.

"OH MY GOD!" I ran off.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Roxas, Riku and Marluxia came after me.

"Wait!" Sora yelled. "What about Axel?!"

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

"So… okay… then I formed a band with a few friends. We called ourselves the Nobodies and went on tour for a little while… we weren't very well known but my bandmate Sax suddenly got in this car crash and died… so…" Demyx continued to ramble. At some point I stopped listening. I just couldn't stop staring at his lips…

"So my other bandmate Xion was having an identity crisis… and quit to go find herself… and… so then I went solo and tried to make it on my own…"

Will you just shut up?

That was all I could think about…

"Eventually I was living as a bum on the corner of Horner St… I was arrested for pandering…"

And that's when it happened…

I slammed Demyx against the wall and pressed my lips onto his. His eyes widened. I pulled away once I realized what I was doing.

"I… I don't know what came over me!" I fell to my knees and covered my face. "You… just make me… so crazy!"

Demyx was too shocked to say anything.

I stood up and cleared my throat. He couldn't take his eyes off of me.

"It… was an illusion! That… didn't… happen…" I said.

"…Right…"

We heard some children's voices. The door opened. We looked through the bars. Someone was dragging an unconscious Namine into the room. They opened a cell across from us and threw her in there, laughing evilly.

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

I was sitting up in the lab with Jack and some scientist in a wheelchair. He was trying to make clones of something.

Suddenly a cold breeze swept through the room. I looked to my left and that's when I saw her…

"Seeeppphhhiiiirrroootthh…" Murmured the ghost of Aerith. My eyes shot wide as I tried to explain in my mind what I was seeing. This wasn't real!

"Whoa! Now _that's_ scary!" Jack said excitedly. "I love it!"

"Follow… me…" She flew through the door. I was petrified, but something made me get up and go after her.

"Aerith! Where are you?"

I ran down the stairs. She drifted through the air.

"Follow…"

Then she stopped and faced me. All of a sudden, she rushed right through me, causing me to be unable to breathe. I clutched my chest and fell to the ground.

"The… truth…" I heard her voice once more before nearly fainting. I lay there, unable to move. I could barely breathe now.

"L-Lord Sephiroth?!" I saw Genesis running towards me. "Oh God… what happened to you?" He cried. "Oh master…"

He held me in his arms. "We… we have to get out of this place…"

o.o.o

_Sora's POV_

So they all went to save Namine, but I had to go back for Axel. I couldn't let one of my fellow buddies just die like that!

I went back to the Square. Axel was laying on the ground. A pool of blood surrounded him.

"AXEL!" I yelled. The trap had been disarmed, but Axel wasn't moving. I shook him frantically. "Oh Axel! Please don't die!"

Still, nothing.

"NOOO!" I cried over Axel's lifeless body. He wasn't coming back! He was dead!

"Oh…" I sniffled. "Axel…"

"Hey… squirt…"

My eyes widened. "A-Axel…?"

Axel's eyes opened slowly. "I'm… alive…"

"AXEL!"

"Heh… that little friend of yours saved me…"

"Really?" I hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Hey… listen…"

"What?"

Axel coughed a few times and tried to lift himself up, but he was too weak. "Look kid… I…"

"You… what? Axel? What's wrong?"

"I think… I bled too much… I… don't have much time left…"

"W-What are you talking about?!"

"Could you… tell Roxas… that I…"

"NO! YOU'RE NOT ABOUT TO DIE ON ME, AXEL! I'LL SAVE YOU!" I tried to lift him, but he was too heavy. But that only made me try harder. Axel screamed in pain. I wasn't going to let him die. I couldn't. It couldn't end like this!!

"AHH! SORA, YOU'RE ONLY MAKING IT WORSE!"

All I could think of at the moment was helping him.

"I'LL… SAVE YOU… AXEL!"

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

"She has to be around here somewhere!"

I was so afraid for my sister's life.

"This way!" Riku pointed to a huge spiral building. "She's probably in there! That's where those kids were trying to take us."

"Oh, you go _ahead_, darlings. I'll stay out here." Marluxia said.

"You _really_ want to stay out here by _yourself_?" Roxas asked.

"Good point…"

"Don't slow us down."

We walked across the bridge and entered the spiral tower. A platform moved up and down.

Roxas jumped onto it without a second thought and went up to the second floor. After seeing that he was okay, we all did the same.

I hated heights.

"HEY!"

"What?" Roxas turned around. It was those kids again.

They threw another explosive pumpkin at him.

"DAMMIT!" Roxas picked up one of the kids and threw him over the edge, then chased the other two. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHITS!"

"Roxas!" We yelled after him, but it was no use.

"We have to keep going…" Riku said.

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

I tried to wake the girl up from my cell. "Hey!" I called as loud as I could, but she didn't budge.

A little blue animal thing appeared in front of the cage and blinked at us.

"AHHH!" I screamed, jumping into Demyx's arms. "WHAT IS THAT THING?"

"H-Hold on! Its got a key!"

The animal unlocked the cellar door and then ran off, leaving the key behind. Demyx dropped me and ran out; I went soon after. We took the key and unlocked Namine's cell. Demyx picked her up. We went out.

Eventually we met up with Riku, Kairi and Marluxia in a small room on the top of the tower. Kairi rushed over to her sister. We set Namine on the floor.

"Namine? Namine!" Kairi shook her. Namine's eyes opened slightly.

"W-what happened? Where's… Roxas?"

The door busted open and two out of the three kids ran in. Roxas appeared as well, enraged. The kids cowered over in the corner.

"Okay, okay! We won't bother you anymore!"

"R-Roxas…?" Namine sat up.

"Namine! You're safe!"

The kids ran away.

"Let's… get back to the Square…" Riku said.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

It had been such a long night. Nobody found any candy like we were supposed to. We all arrived back in the Square. That's when I was reminded of Axel. Guilt hit me hard.

Tidus, Reno, Seifer, Genesis, Squall, Terra and Sephiroth were already waiting for us by the fountain. None of them said a word.

"Where's… Sora and Axel?" I asked.

"Axel is up in the lab and Sora…" Squall pointed over to this huge pumpkin structure. "Sora is under there."

Roxas, Namine and I went over to see Sora. He had his back turned to us.

"Sora…?" Namine asked.

"It's… Axel…"

"What happened to Axel?" Roxas asked worriedly.

"He's… he's dying… the scientist is trying to save him…"

"What?!"

"It's time to leave." Sephiroth said.

"But what about Axel?!" Sora cried.

Sephiroth looked towards the ground. "He… won't be coming back with us…" I gasped. "Just yet…" Sephiroth finished. "We're going to leave him here for a while. I'm pretty sure the scientist can figure something out."

"Unbelievable…" Roxas said, staring sadly at the ground.

"Roxas…" Namine tried to grab his hand, but he pulled away and walked off.

We all gathered back around the fountain.

"I put you all in a lot of danger…" Sephiroth started, feeling really ashamed. "We will never come here again."

"Actually it was quite boring." Tidus said. Some of us looked at him like he was crazy. "But!" He said, "Terra and I found some candy!"

"Really?!" Sora leaped up.

"YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY!" Terra said.

"Anyway…" Sephiroth interrupted, "don't worry about Axel. He will be fine. Now let's get going."

I looked over at Roxas. He wasn't happy at all. Not even Namine in the nurse outfit could cheer him up at this point.

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

I couldn't be anywhere near Demyx for the time being. Not only was everybody really gloomy because of Axel, there was also an added awkwardness. Demyx couldn't even look at me.

I felt so stupid.

o.o.o

**A/N:** Phew! Well we skipped around POVs quite a bit. But I hope you enjoyed it! Happy Halloween, everyone! Review!

Zexion: Don't get _too_ wasted. And if you do, think of me.

…Right. Until next time!


	14. To Be Or Not To Be

**XIV**

_Marluxia's POV_

HAHA!

No more will I be made fun of because of my hair… because I CHANGED IT!

Yes, now it is… BLUE!

"You still look like a fag." Seifer walked by. I fumed.

o.o.o

I went up to Sephiroth's room with a boom box. Lately I've been working on a song for him.

"What happened to your hair?" He raised an eyebrow. I guess I should've just left it pink…

"Anyway… Sir, I wrote a song for you."

"Oh God." He rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair.

"I call it… One Winged Angel." I said happily and pressed play.

I really think he likes it!

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

Demyx picked up his suitcase and headed towards the door. "I'll… be going now."

"But… why?" I asked.

He couldn't answer me. He gave me one last disturbed look and left.

I went up to the library. Maybe I could get lost in a book to hide my pain. I know he left because of what I did to him… I'm such an idiot!

Sora came into the library as well. He seemed to be looking for something to read. (He can read?) He also didn't look too happy.

"Oh, hey Zexion…" Sora said. Yup, he was depressed.

"What's wrong with you?"

"It's just… Axel."

"Oh."

There was a short silence.

"Hey… Sora?"

"Hm?" He looked up.

"How would you like to go on an adventure?"

"An adventure?"

When I get pissed or depressed, I like to take it out on others for my own amusement.

"Yeah." I opened my book. "Want to know what's inside the book?"

Like a child, Sora slowly nodded. He seemed very interested.

"Well then…" And I sucked him into my book, laughing my ass off in the process. As I calmed down a bit, Demyx's face appeared in my head once more. Those feelings of angst returned…

_'To be… or not to be… that is the question…'_

I picked up _Catcher and the Rye_ and started reading…

o.o.o

_Riku's POV_

I found my _true_ target.

Kairi… she was an independent woman with a feisty side. Not only that, she was freaking hott.

_That's_ my type.

I didn't have to worry about Sora. There was no competition there.

Kairi sat at the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. Her bikini strap had fallen off her shoulder but she didn't seem to mind. Neither did I.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

I wanted to just relax for a while and try to take my mind off of things. The pool was so calming.

Of course I was worried about Axel, but I was also worried about Sora. Even though he's the most idiotic person I've ever met in my life, I was starting to see first hand the affects all of us have on him. I _know_ he cares about everyone in the house a lot more than they probably care about him. I've tried over and over to get past the fact that he acts like such a child and like him again, but I just couldn't. Sadly, I don't think he'll ever grow up…

o.o.o

_Riku's POV_

I feel like such a pervert watching Kairi like this in secret…

It was time to go and talk to her.

I was cool—I knew how to talk to a girl… I'd be fine.

"Hey there." I said, sitting down next to her and putting my feet in the water.

"Oh, hey Riku."

She didn't say anything else, making me feel this was a bit awkward.

"How… are you?" I asked.

"I'm okay."

Ack, this isn't going anywhere.

"I'll… see you later."

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

Times when One Winged Angel plays:

When I wake up.

When I'm in the shower.

When I'm eating breakfast.

When I'm lecturing.

When I'm on the phone.

When I'm in my room.

When I'm… DAMMIT IT PLAYS ALL THE TIME!

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?" I yelled at the imaginary orchestra behind me.

"Sir!!" There was a frantic knock at my door. It was Genesis.

"What?"

"There's… a bunch of police outside…"

"Eh?"

I followed him downstairs. Reno, Roxas, Squall and Terra were already down there looking out the windows and such. Sure enough, police were here. They knocked on the front door. I went over and opened it.

"We have a warrant for your arrest." Said the puny man. "We're going to need to search the house. Everyone must leave."

"You can't arrest my master!" Genesis yelled, but I shushed him.

"Go ahead. I have no objections. Genesis, this is your chance to impress me. I leave everything to you."

"W-What?! Wait!"

They handcuffed me and took me to their car. Oh yeah, they were afraid of me.

o.o.o

_Genesis' POV_

So all the responsibility was just put on me…

I WON'T LET THE MASTER DOWN!

I looked over at Roxas and the others. Gulping, I wasn't sure how I was going to do this. I wasn't… I wasn't ready for this! Oh, Sir… why must you put all of this pressure on me?

"I'll… go gather everyone else." Roxas said after a long, awkward silence and left.

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

I found everyone but Sora. Worried about my brother of course, I searched all over the house three times before concluding that he just wasn't here.

"You won't find him." Zexion said.

Immediately I knew what happened. "BRING HIM BACK!" I grabbed Zexion's shirt.

"He'll find his way out…" Zexion glanced over at Squall, who cowered.

"Now then!" Genesis spoke up, "Listen! The Master has been arrested by that stupid Mayor's doing and has left me in charge! So… don't disobey me!"

"No one's going to listen to you." Zexion said.

"You _will_ obey me!"

I stepped forward. "Look, guys… as much as we all don't want to acknowledge it… Sephiroth _did_ put Genesis in charge. Let's all just chill out and try to work together… that's what the master has been trying to teach us, right? How to be a _family_?"

No one was listening.

Kairi and Namine came over to me. They both had worried looks on their faces.

"Our father is a powerful man…" Namine started.

"W-Wait!" Terra and a few others came over to us. "That _mayor_ is your _father_?!"

"Yes!" Kairi said. "But… we have nothing to do with him!"

"I knew you two were going to be trouble for us the moment you stepped into this house…" Terra stomped off.

"But… it's not our fault!" Kairi yelled.

"Don't worry about it." Riku patted Kairi's back, making her feel a bit awkward.

"Um, we need everyone to leave now." A few policemen appeared at the door.

"Ohh… what are we going to _do_?!" Marluxia cried.

"Alright! Um… line up!" Genesis tried to regain order, but failed. Everyone was on their own at this point.

The limos took us all to a nearby hotel in the same town. None of us had any idea what to do other than to go with the flow of things. Genesis went up to the desk and got six rooms for us all, two or three to a room. Since Axel nor Sora was here, I was left with whoever was left over.

Kairi and Namine shared a room, of course. Terra and Seifer took the room across from them. Zexion was stuck with Reno for the time being and everyone else but Marluxia seemed to have found someone to room with. Guess I was stuck with him…

"Oh, darling… isn't this nice?" Marluxia opened the curtains, bringing immense amounts of light into the room.

"Uh huh…" I said, completely uninterested. My mind was elsewhere…

Axel…

…Sora…

o.o.o

_Sora's POV_

So there's a JUNGLE inside of Zexion's book!

I walked around admiring the view. There were birds of many colors, bugs of many shapes and sizes and even a panda! Zexion's book world is awesome!

"Huh?" I saw someone over in the distance. Could it be who I thought it was?

I ran over to the girl. "Olette? What are you doing here?" Yup, it was her. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Zexion told me I'd find friends… he _lied to me_!" She covered her face and cried.

"Oh… well _duh._" I said as I started to walk off.

"Wait! Where are you going? You're just going to leave me here?!"

I saw a very peculiar plant and completely zoned her out.

"Hey! This thing is cool!"

Vines came out of the sides. And it had a mouth!

"Sora! Are you listening to me?!" Olette ran up to me, but I shushed her.

"Look! Isn't this plant awesome?"

She gasped. "Sora! That's a Venus Fly— AHH!"

Olette fell to the ground and slid towards the plant. Finally realizing that the plant had grabbed her, I reached for her hand and tried to save her. However, the plant was too strong. As Olette got closer and closer, the chance of her staying alive was a million to one.

"OLETTE!" I yelled. Her hand was slipping. She screamed and cried out for help.

"SORA! DON'T… LET GO!"

"Okay." I let go over her hand and she was eaten by the plant. I must've not have heard her correctly. Why would she tell me to let go? Silly girl.

Her last words were, "YOU IDIOT!"

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

I was sitting there on the bed when suddenly the book in my coat rumbled. I pulled it out and opened it. A flash of light caused me to fall backwards. When I opened my eyes, I saw Olette on top of me, knocked out. She was all dirty and had a bunch of scratches. Her clothes were torn. And… she was quite slimy might I add.

"Eww! Girl cooties!" I pushed her to the side.

"Mmm…" She struggled in her sleep. "No… don't… why didn't you… let me die… damn you… Sora…"

I poked her with a pen I got from the table. She moved. I freaked out and moved closer to the edge of the bed. Reno came out of the bathroom.

"What the hell? Who's she?"

"I-It's not what it looks like!"

"Damn, just because you pick up a hooker doesn't mean you have to hide it. Damn, you must've… fucked… her… up…" Reno went around to the other side of the bed. I gave him a confused look. "She's cute."

"Reno, she's that girl that lived in the library… remember?"

He blinked a few times and then laughed like an idiot. He was acting kind of weird—like he was completely out of it or something.

"Alright, what are you smoking?"

"Hahahahaaa…" He went over to the other bed and fell over.

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

They took me to a high security prison out in the middle of nowhere and dressed me into an orange jumpsuit. Still handcuffed, I walked down the hallway getting freaked out looks from everyone. They filled out a few papers. I waited out in the hallway. I had no reason to escape these fools. I wasn't afraid at all.

"Do you know why you're here?" Asked Officer Pork.

"Could it have something to do with the murder of Aerith Strife?"

"That's correct. Now then, we will show you to your cell."

There were all kinds of crazy men here. I could've sworn many of them I had seen and treated before…

Well, damn.

"Cell 785. Get in there!" Officer Pork yelled, trying to sound all tough. "Hey, pussy!" He yelled at the guy that was already in there, "try to be nice to the new guy!" I slowly made my way into the small space. He closed the barred door and locked it shut, making an ugly face at me before walking off. I looked over at my cell mate. He was a shady fellow with long, black dreads and a mustache. He sat in the corner with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"So… what are you in for?"

"I rape men."

Immediately I felt uncomfortable, but I was a psychiatrist. I could handle this…

"Oh… pleasant…" I said sarcastically, sitting down on the hard bunk bed.

"I like long hair…" He grinned.

"If you value your life, I suggest you stay away from me."

"I'm not afraid to die. So what happens to you is of no concern to me. I will be reborn… and I will come back and feast upon your flesh…"

I blinked a few times. So he's a cannibal as well. Great.

"So… what's your name?"

"Is my name that important to you? Fine then, if you must know so you can have something to scream when I'm yanking your beautiful long hair…"

"That's enough…"

For the first time in my life, I was scared. I mean, I've dealt with drug attics, murderers, alcoholics, schizo's… but… damn.

"HEY! FAGGOT!"

"WHO'S THE NEW BITCH?"

"I BET HE'S TASTY!"

"I BET HE'S GOT AIDS!"

As the others yelled countless insults from their cells, I just tried to ignore it.

Nighttime came. People quieted down a bit, but there were still loud ones that yelled out random remarks from time to time like they were having episodes from Nam or something.

Xaldin, my cell mate just sat there in the corner. He looked like he hadn't moved in days, giving me a bit of relief.

I don't know how I'm going to survive this.

I hope the children are okay…

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

Namine and I couldn't sleep at all that night. If my father really was out to get Sephiroth, if what happened was true… if Sephiroth really _did_ kill our mother…

I don't know what we'd do.

I mean, we've become so close with everyone in the house that by now… by now they felt like the family we never had. Sure, Sephiroth definitely looks capable to murder… but did he really?

"Kairi… I just want to go back to the way things were…" Namine sniffled.

"You really want to go back to living with Aunt Tifa and being shunned from the community?"

"It was better than having to worry if you were living with a murderer every day!"

"You know damn well you were having fun in that house."

"Yeah… but…"

"Plus… you fell in love."

"I did not!"

"Stop denying it. Anyway… I know it's a scary thought… but I really… honestly I don't think Sephiroth did it. I think there's more to the story."

"But…"

I was always taking care of my sister. I had to assure her that everything was going to be alright, but for some reason I just couldn't get anymore words out.

o.o.o

Morning came. Everyone gathered downstairs for breakfast.

"Today… we're just going to lay low. Nobody is allowed to leave the hotel." Genesis said.

"What?!" We all beamed.

"Who knows what that mayor will do to us with our master gone!"

"He has a point." Reno cut in. "Up until now… who's been protecting us?"

We all seemed to agree, but of course none of us wanted to be stuck here in this boring hotel all day either.

"Let's just… wait for a bit to see what happens." Genesis said.

"This is fucked up!" Seifer stomped over to the stairs and went back up to his room. The rest of us remained there without saying a word.

"I'm going back up too." Reno took his leave, followed by Squall, Tidus, Terra and Marluxia. Genesis waited around a little longer before following. Roxas, Namine, Riku and I stayed in the dining area.

"I guess… all we can do is stay here like he said…" Namine said, staring at the ground with a sad look in her eyes.

"Namine…" Roxas put his arm around her and tried to comfort her.

"It's just… not fair…"

o.o.o

That night, after a long boring day in our rooms, Namine and I went straight to bed. I couldn't sleep once again, but it looked like Namine had already drifted off to sleep. There was a knock at the door, which made me jump.

"Kairi? Namine? It's me… Roxas…"

I got up and looked through the eyehole just to make sure. I let him inside.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Ehh…" He looked over at Namine, who was in her bed. I looked at him strangely.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah…"

Namine woke up and saw us. "Oh… Roxas… what are you doing here?" She yawned.

Um… I thought we could… go outside for a while. I want to talk… to you two…"

"To both of us? Why outside?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's… too… I don't like the atmosphere in here. I want some fresh air."

Still wondering why Roxas was acting so strange, Namine and I decided to follow him down to the lobby and out the back door to where the pool area was. It was kind of chilly.

Roxas walked over to the side of the pool and stared at the water. I saw him clutch his fists.

"Well… what I wanted to talk about was…"

He turned his head slowly. All of a sudden, something hit me and I fell to the ground. The last thing I remember was seeing Roxas… or the person I _thought_ of to be Roxas… running towards me…

o.o.o

**A/N:** Ahh, that's another benefit for characters that look exactly the same! Haha! Anyway, I feel like I've lost a few reviewers, which makes me sad. But that won't stop me from writing this awesome story for those awesome people that continue to follow and review. Thanks guys! By the way, my goal is to use all the non-disney characters but the end of this story. If there's anyone besides Hayner and Pence that I'm still missing, let me know! Final Fantasy characters count as well, of course.

Review, please!

**Zexion:** Bastards…


	15. Can You Pump My Gas?

**XV**

_Kairi's POV_

My eyes opened slowly. Bright sunlight hit my face.

Once my eyes adjusted a little more, I looked around the room.

This wasn't the mansion…

Nor was it Tifa's house…

I was in the middle of a library…

Where am I?

"Hello?"

Suddenly, memories rushed through my head.

_Those_ memories…

This wasn't just _any_ library…

This was my old _home_.

…

This _has_ to be a dream.

It just _has _to be!

"Rise and shine."

"Who's there?!" I got into a defensive stance. It was Roxas.

No, wait. _That's_ not Roxas…

All he could do was smile warmly at me.

I wasn't going to be fooled again.

"Why am I here?" I paused. "And where is Namine?"

That's right… Namine and I were tricked by this Roxas look-a-like…

…so he brought us here…?

I was tired, confused and just plain angry.

"Cloud moved back in here a few years ago. He wanted to bring his daughters back home."

"That doesn't make any sense! He was the one who--"

"I know." He interrupted. "Anyway, your father is waiting for you."

Why would he come back to such a place…

"He's… not my father…"

o.o.o

_Cloud's POV_

It was time to make up for my mistakes.

Oh why… why did I do what I did?

I looked over at the picture of my one and only—Aerith.

Even though she betrayed me, I loved her.

Damn Sephiroth…

He… took her from me…

And my children…

I wonder if they can forgive me. Back then, I was overtaken with rage that my own wife would cheat on me… and then… just out of the blue she was _pregnant_. I doubted everything.

"Sir, the girls will be up here soon." Ventus appeared.

"Right…"

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

I couldn't believe I was here.

Radiant Garden…

No, this place looks a lot darker… and creepier…

My home was filled with beautiful flowers and a blue sky that went on forever…

This sky just looks… red.

_Flashback_

"Mama!" I grabbed my mother's hands. "Don't let go!"

"I won't let go. I promise!" She laughed as she spun me around in the grass. Pretty soon we both got pretty dizzy and fell onto our bums, laughing the entire time. My mother took me in her arms and started humming. I closed my eyes and leaned back onto her.

"You know why this place is so beautiful?" She asked.

"Why?"

"Because you and your sister bless everything you touch. You two are my angels."

"Mom, what's an angel?"

She looked up at the sky and smiled. "The greatest thing in the world."

"Does that make you an angel too?"

She laughed but didn't say anything. We stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.

_End of Flashback_

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

"OH, YIPPIE! ROAD TRIP!" Marluxia exclaimed on the other side of the room loud enough to wake me up. I grunted a few words under my breath and sat up. My hair always looked like a disaster in the morning. Unfortunately for me, Marluxia had to be an _expert_ on hair care.

"Oh, darling… come here. Let me look at you."

"No, I can do it myself."

There was a loud knock on our door. "FAMILY MEETING, DOWNSTAIRS NOW!" It was obviously Genesis' voice.

Once I was dressed and decent looking, Marluxia and I made our way down to the first floor. Seifer came out of his room and followed us, along with Terra and Squall. We were all very tired.

Genesis was standing in the lobby with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face just waiting for us all to get down there. After the four of us joined them, it seemed like everybody was here. Well… everybody but Kairi, Namine, Sora and Axel.

Wait, where are Kairi and Namine?

"Listen up." Genesis began. "We have a few serious situations on our hands that need fixing." He turned to Zexion. "First off, I want you to bring Sora back right _now_."

"But he—"

Genesis cut him off. "DO IT!"

"Okay, okay..."

Zexion pulled out his book, put on tiny reading glasses and scanned through the pages. He cleared his throat. "There you are…"

All of a sudden he closed the book. "Sora is in the middle of a very climatic moment in the story and for the story's sake it would be best not to disturb him."

"ZEXION!!" Genesis screamed.

o.o.o

_Sora's POV_

"What if I'm not the hero? What if I'm… the bad guy?"

A girl stepped up. "I know what you are… your skin is pale white and ice cold… you don't go out into the sunlight…"

"Say it out loud…" I said in a low tone.

All of a sudden, the world around us started to shake. I reached out for my dear Bel—

"Nooo!"

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

A flash of light blinded us all and we heard a scream. Sora appeared, extremely shaken. He just lay there on his side, holding his knees tightly. I rushed over to my brother's aid.

"SORA!"

"STAY BACK!" Zexion yelled. We all gave him a strange look. Zexion cleared his throat. "Uh… he might bite."

Genesis stared at Sora for a while and then continued. "Alright, since _that's_ taken care of…" He walked around for a little bit. "It's time for us to go on a little road trip…"

"Hold on!" I raised my hand.

"What?"

"Where are Kairi and Namine?"

Genesis looked down in disappointment. "Last night… they were… kidnapped."

"WHAT?!" I yelled, along with a few other surprised reactions.

"It's all thanks to your little twin." Reno said. "They probably thought it was you."

"What…?"

"Shame on you for looking so similar!" Marluxia slapped my shoulder. Nobody responded to him.

"Anyway… they were taken to this place called _Hallow Bastion_. According to my records…"

"You have records?" Zexion interrupted.

"Damn it, will you all let me speak?!"

Everyone got silent.

"This is where that mayor lives. You know… their father."

"Hmph!" Terra looked away.

"SO… what we will do is go and save them."

"Sounds like a plan." I said. "Let's go."

"But!"

"What now?!" Reno tapped his foot impatiently.

Genesis ignored him. "We are _nothing_ without the master. We must get Sephiroth out of jail."

"What makes you think we can't survive without him?" Riku spoke up. "Maybe _you_ can't, but I think we can all figure something out to save the girls together."

"He's right!" I agreed.

"I don't see why we need to save them. They're with their _daddy_ now. It's none of our business." Terra concluded.

"In case you haven't noticed, they're _family_ too." Riku pointed out.

"NOT TO ME!"

"Be ready to leave in an hour! We will go and get Sephiroth first!" Genesis clapped his hands loudly. "Chop chop!"

o.o.o

Sora turned into a chatterbox as soon as we got back up to the room. It was like he had gone completely bi-polar!

"So THEN… I met this girl. She thought I was a _vampire_! SO COOL, right?!"

I did _not_ miss this, but I did miss my brother.

He will never know that.

Onto other things… why is it that I seemed to be losing everyone I cared for? First Axel, then Sora… now Namine…

I was determined more than ever…

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

That bastard… I'm going to KILL him when I see him… I swear…

Someone poked my shoulder. I turned around and decked them in the face. It was a reflex.

"OW!!"

It was Namine.

"OH MY GOD!" I immediately tried to apologize, but all she could do was cry. "Namine! I am _so_ sorry!" I pulled her hand away from where I accidentally hit her. She had a black eye.

"Kairi! That hurt! Why did you do that?!" She continued to sob. "…I'm…I'm bleeding!!"

"I'm… sorry…"

"Ready?" Ventus appeared. "Oh… what happened?"

"None of your business."

Ventus had to check and make sure we were still following him a few times. We were so shocked with how much our old home had changed. It used to be so bright…

"Right this way."

Once again I had to protect my sister and be brave. She really needs to learn…

My thoughts were interrupted by Ventus.

"His door is right down the hall." Ventus bowed and shut the door behind him. Namine immediately tried to escape, but it seemed to be locked. That bastard…

"Kairi… I don't want to see him!"

"Me neither… but I guess we have no other choice."

o.o.o

_Genesis' POV_

So we all loaded into the limo. I took the wheel because I was the boss—at least that's what Sephiroth said. It was difficult keeping everyone quiet, especially since Sora was back. As much as I hated the little runt, Sephiroth wouldn't have wanted it any other way…

We had been driving for about an hour now and I was already starting to get tired. I decided to stop at a gas station and fill up because this would probably be the only one for miles. We were out in the middle of nowhere.

"Alright, I'm going to pump the gas now!" I said proudly as I walked out of the car and slammed the door. As I walked up and started to pay, I realized something. I…don't even know how to pump gas…

I looked over at others to see what they were doing, but all there was to see was a creepy old man with one tooth in front of an old pick up.

"What's taking so long!" I heard Marluxia yell from inside.

"Give me a moment okay!" I yelled back.

I saw a jeep pull up to the pump behind us. Suddenly a brawny handsome man hopped out of the car and brushed back his dark hair. He was so… beautiful…

He walked up to the pump and paid then started pumping his gas patiently, then stopped when he noticed me staring. I quickly looked away.

"Need something?" I heard him say. I blushed.

"N-n-nothing…" I replied. He smiled and nodded. I turned back to my pump to try to figure it out.

"It's not that hard!" Roxas yelled from inside the vehicle. I ignored him and slowly turned back over to the handsome man behind the limo. He was standing there quietly; his body was like a Greek sculpture. He glanced my way once more. I was mesmerized by those beautiful dark blue eyes…

"Can you pump _my _gas?" I asked without realizing how that sounded. He stopped and stared at me in confusion. I cleared my throat. "I'm…from out of town…and…"

After a moment of hesitation, he finally nodded and walked over to assist me. I could however still tell he felt a little awkward.

After pumping the gas for me he coolly looked back at me and waved. "I'm glad I could help you, sir." He then walked to his car.

"Wait!" I yelled desperately. He stopped and turned around.

"What?" he asked.

"I…I didn't get your name…" I stuttered. He smiled again.

"The name's Angeal." He said.

"Okay…" I said, waving slowly like an idiot.

Marluxia then stepped out of the vehicle, probably wondering what was taking so long. "Why are you drooling?" he asked me. I couldn't say anything. All I could do was just watch Angeal as he drove away into the distance…

I would probably never see him again.

o.o.o

_Marluxia's P.O.V._

"So I briefly had a job as a matador!" I started, telling yet another one of my stories of the days before I moved into the house.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Seifer asked.

"Because the outfits were _pretty!_" I exclaimed. "Anyway, get this! My first day on the job, one of the bulls freaking attacked me! Can you believe that?!"

"That's what they do, Marluxia…" Roxas said.

"Ugh! Shut up! You're ruining the story!" I said.

"Well what did you expect? Did you think the bull would play dress up with you?" Zexion asked.

"Well, I don't know. I didn't think it would want to harm my pretty face! Anyway, this man named Miguel stepped in and violently punched the bull in one hit. I found that to be a bit brutal, but he was hot…" I said, trailing off on the last part.

"I'm hungry." Zexion said, changing the subject. He proceeded to eat the introduction page to Lexicon. Everyone stared at him oddly. He just shrugged.

"Okay, we'll stop at Burger King." Genesis said.

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST WENDY!?" Sora shouted.

"Sora, Wendy isn't _actually_ at Wendy's." Roxas explained.

"KEEP LYING TO YOURSELF!!" Sora yelled back.

We ended up stopping at Burger King. Genesis rolled up to the first window.

"Hello, can I take your order?" the radio said.

"I'll have…what would you guys like to eat?" Genesis asked, looking back to us.

"TACOS!!" Sora yelled.

"I think I would like to have a salad…" I said.

"Sora, there are no Tacos at Burger King…" Roxas pointed out.

"Fine! Pizza!" Sora said, pouting.

"THERE ARE NO- ARGH! FINE! You get a cheeseburger! Be happy! We would like one cheeseburger, one salad-" Genesis said angrily.

"On second thought, I think I would like a chicken wrap." I said, changing my mind.

"Make that a chicken wrap-"

"No, no! That has more calories! I think I want the salad anyway." I was just so indecisive today.

"I WANT CALORIES!!" Sora yelled, hopping up and down in the backseat.

Zexion hopped out of the vehicle.

"Where the hell are you going?!" Genesis yelled after him. He didn't answer.

After Genesis finally got all of our orders together, we parked so we could sort them out and eat.

"They got my order wrong!" I yelled. "I specifically said no ranch, no tomatoes, no croutons, no olives, and NO ONIONS!"

"THIS ISN'T THE POPCORN I WANTED!!" Sora whined.

"You didn't ask for popcorn, dumbass." Roxas said.

Zexion got back into the car.

"Where did you go?" Genesis asked.

"And why do you smell like cigarettes?" Riku asked.

"I needed a smoke…" Zexion answered.

"You smoke?" I asked.

Sora was throwing his bag around and screaming like a girl. "I HATE MY LIFE!!"

"I do now…" Zexion answered, watching him.

So time passed and we were finally back on the road. Roxas found some valium and drugged Sora with it, so the ride was quiet for the most part.

"…So _then-"_

I was rudely interrupted by a sudden blast of 80's music playing from the direction of Zexion's book.

"NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN…" it said. Zexion slammed his book in frustration and threw it at Sora.

"Ow…" Sora groaned in his half-sleep state.

"You guys! I believe we've arrived at Hallow Bastion!" Genesis announced.

"What?" Riku asked, "But I thought you wanted to save Sephiroth _so_ _badly_…"

"You know…I completely forgot about that…" he said dreamily.

"Anyway! We're here, so let's go get the girls!" he said.

"He cares about _girls_?" Seifer snorted.

"SHUT UP!!" Genesis screeched back.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

We were about to see our father in person for the first time in years. Hatred and fear flowed through me, making me shake. Namine hid behind me, obviously unwilling as well. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room was quiet. It was like an office. There was a huge chair facing the window. Was Cloud there…?

I gulped.

"Hello, girls…"

The door shut behind us, making even me jump. Our father stood there.

He couldn't take his eyes off of us.

o.o.o

**A/N:** So sorry for the long wait! I hope everyone had a super duper awesome Christmas! This is my late x-mas present to everyone so I hope you enjoyed it! Only TWO chapters left!! (I think…)

**Review please!**

_Zexion's Corner_

_-Zexion is in the corner of the room slumped over and not moving.-_

Me: DAMN IT!! I FORGOT TO FEED HIM!


	16. Vista

**Chapter 16**

_Kairi's POV_

Hatred…

The man we have loathed for so many years was less than ten feet away from us. I liked it better when he was on the TV screen…

Namine hid behind me. "Kairi…" she whispered. "Do we _really_ have to do this?"

"Hello, girls…" Cloud cracked a smile.

We said nothing.

Cloud approached us slowly. We backed up into a bookshelf, hoping to stay as far away from him as possible. He stopped halfway and observed us for a bit before returning back to his desk.

"So… what do you want?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"I guess you already know a few things… but let me just explain myself…"

"We don't want to hear it!" Namine yelled from behind me.

"Well, you're going to." Cloud said in a low tone, making me shiver. He looked out the window, putting his hands behind his back. "It's been so long… you two have grown up so much…"

"Cut the crap." I said.

"Alright then, I'll get down to business." Cloud turned back and looked at us. "I want you two to come and live with me. I want to be a family again."

"Hell no!" Namine yelled, coming out from behind me.

"You don't have a choice."

"Says who?" I shot back. My fists clenched.

Cloud slammed his hand down onto the desk and turned his head. His eyes were hidden behind his bangs. Unsure about his sudden change of mood, I held onto my sister's arm just in case he was going to do something. I was ready to protect her with my life.

"I made the biggest mistake… you two didn't deserve this…"

"Don't get all _sappy_ on us. We don't care." I said.

"Kairi…" He looked at me with sad eyes. "Namine… please… just…"

"Can we leave?" Namine said behind me. I felt her shaking a little. She was going to give in any time now.

Cloud's mood changed once again. Now he looked really pissed off. He took a few steps toward us. I had chills all over. Could we really defend ourselves against him?

"You are staying with me and that's final."

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

So here we were at the entrance of the castle. The large gate before us was unfortunately locked. Genesis tried to use force to open them but… that boy never ate his Wheaties.

"Now what?" Marluxia asked. "There's no way in!"

"I'm not going to stop here!" Genesis said as he kicked the door, hurting his toe in the process. He jumped around on one foot, then began sucking his thumb like a baby afterwards.

I sighed and stared at the floor when I suddenly saw something black scurry across the corner of my vision.

"Huh?" I looked up to see nothing there.

"Maybe there is a way around." Roxas commented, walked towards the side of the building and scanned the area.

I heard a small voice in the distance, grabbing my attention and making me look to the right.

It was…

…a small black and white mouse.

It was waving at me and smiling happily. I wiped my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough, it was still there. Suddenly, it started pointing at something on the wall.

"…What?" I asked confusedly.

"Zexion?" Riku asked.

Hesitantly, I started to slowly walk towards it, curious and confused. When I came up to the wall, it disappeared, but I noticed a small key on the ground.

"Okay…"

"Hey, Zexy! Whatcha doin!" I suddenly heard Sora behind me.

"I… found a key." I answered, holding it up to him, still confused. Genesis started walking towards us.

"What are you two doing?" he said, suddenly noticing the key in my hand. "Hey, a key!" he snatched it out of my hand and ran towards the gate. It fit perfectly, opening the gate.

"Let's go!" he ordered everyone. I still stood there, wondering what the hell just happened. After a few moments, I followed everyone inside.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

Ever since Kairi and I got into the house, for the most part we had completely forgotten about this lowlife bastard. I wasn't exactly sure why all of a sudden he wanted us back, but I knew one thing; we didn't want him.

"Tell us the truth!" Kairi demanded. "Tell us _why_ you left us. And don't say that we're _too young_ to hear it because we are legal adults now in case you forgot."

I waited for him to speak. I was too afraid to say anything.

"Alright. Honestly, I didn't think you two were my real daughters. I thought Aerith cheated on me with Sephiroth. Also, there was so much stress in our relationship."

"Like what? And Sephiroth already told us most of that."

"He felt like he was losing." Another familiar voice was heard. The door opened. Cloud's eyes widened as he stared at his arch nemesis and our 'guardian,' Sephiroth. Wait, where did he come from?

Sephiroth stepped forward and pulled out his sword, pointing it at Cloud. Cloud stepped back as Sephiroth got closer, not taking his eyes off of his. "You knew Aerith loved me, so you were jealous."

"Only natural of a _husband_!" Cloud yelled, hitting the wall.

"Right, but you sure didn't _act_ like one. That woman cried _all the time_ because you were never around, and when you were you were always arguing!"

Did Sephiroth _really _love my mother more than my own father did…?

This is just too weird…

"Why don't you _enlighten them_ on what really happened, eh?" Sephiroth raised his eyebrow at Cloud and smirked. "Tell them how… _you_ were the one that killed Aerith."

"WHAT?" Kairi and I screamed at the same time.

"You… you bastard!" Cloud charged at him and knocked him to the ground.

o.o.o

_Roxas's POV_

So as we were walking through this abandonded looking castle, I stopped when I heard footsteps at a distance, followed by an annoying voice in the background.

"Roxas?" Riku asked.

"You hear that?" I asked.

"I've been hearing and seeing strange things since I got here…" Zexion shot in with, staring out the corner of his eye with a paranoid stare.

I ignored the two and started walking towards the sound. "Hello?" I stopped when I realized it was that old pedophile and…

"Axel?" I yelled, grabbing the attention of maybe a few others. Suddenly Sora came racing into the room once he heard Axel's name.

"AXEL! OH MY GOD! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Axel just stared and blinked at him emotionless…like always, but this time it was a little different. Sora stopped and looked at him when he noticed his blank expression.

"Axel… it's me..."

"Incorrect name. Please try again." Axel replied in a monotone voice.

"Axel?"

"Does not compute."

"Axel's talking funny!" Sora whined.

I turned to Vexen, knowing this had to all his fault.

"What's wrong with him? He's like a robot! Vexen, what did you do?"

Vexen threw his arms up in defense. "I did nothing! I woke up this morning and found his body lying unconscious at my doorstep. When he woke up he was like this. I merely changed his operating system when I realized he was running on Vista."

"WHY!"

"Because Vista sucks." He simply answered, crossing his arms.

"NO! WHY DON'T YOU CHANGE HIM BACK TO NORMAL!" I yelled again.

"Rebooting." Axel said in the background, collapsing on Sora. Sora began screaming and crying. I started groaning and grabbing my head in frustraition. I feel a headache coming on…

Genesis walked in on the scene on a crying Sora protesting as Axel laid on top of him with a proud Vexen just staring at the two.

"Oh…dear…"

"I'm done…" I said, storming out of the room.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

'_He… he killed… my mother? My own father?'_

Sephiroth and Cloud were fighting right in front of me, but I heard nothing. I was about to crack. My eyes drifted over to a few shell casings on the floor behind the desk. I had one thing on my mind.

Kill the man that killed my mother.

"Kairi?" Namine tried to figure out what I was doing. She saw me go behind the desk but also kept an eye on Sephiroth and Cloud. Sephiroth had him up against the wall with his sword out. Namine couldn't move from her spot.

I looked around for the gun that the bullets belonged to, but I didn't see it anywhere.

"Kairi, Namine, I want you to leave… NOW!" Sephiroth pushed Cloud to the ground. When he only heard Namine's response, he took a moment to look back at me. I stood at the window with my head down, motionless. I felt tears forming in my eyes.

I didn't care anymore._  
_

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

As we continued walked down the dark corridor of the abandoned castle, I kept spotting that black and white mouse once more as it kept waving at me. It's been leading us through this castle the whole time. By us I mean _me _as I would point in the direction of it and follow it around, leading the crew behind me. They must've all thought I was crazy at this point. Finally I couldn't take it anymore when the mouse ran ahead and started beckoning me into a dark corner. I couldn't trust it anymore.

"Okay _seriously_! Someone HAS to have seen that!"

"Oh dude! I TOTALLY see it too!" Reno exclaimed excitedly.

"Real-"

"No!" he cut me off, rolling his eyes and walking ahead. I looked back over to the mouse as it started smiling maliciously and making signals as if it wanted to decapitate me.

Fucking creepy mouse…

I ran ahead and never looked back.

o.o.o

_Genesis' POV_

Room after room we were all starting to get really tired. Zexion had stopped freaking out about little voices, Axel was still acting like a robot, Roxas and Vexen were still bickering back and forth. I had a major headache now and my head was spinning. And to make it even worse…

"Hey, guys." Wait, I thought Roxas was behind me…

"Roxas…you change clothes fast…" I said, staring at him confusedly.

"That's absurd! Roxas is right here!" Vexen exclaimed, pointing at him. Roxas just stared at his clone in awe.

"WOW!" Sora ran up to the guy. "IT'S MY LONG LOST COUSIN!" He got about one inch away from his face, examing his features innocently but carefully.

"I'm _not_ your long lost _cousin_ and I have never met Roxas. My name is Ventus."

"What do you want?" Riku asked.

"Do you have a brother?" Sora interrupted.

"No."

"Sora… get over here!" I said. "He might have diseases!"

"What about a sister?"

"…no…"

"Aunt?"

"No."

"Do you know a guy named Barret Wallace?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm just trying to see if you might know somebody that I know so that maybe we have something in common and know the same people we both know! Then we'll actually have something to talk about! That's how _great_ relationships form… off of common interests or people!"

"You don't know Barret Wallace…" Reno pointed out.

Roxas went up and grabbed his brother, pulling him away from the stranger furiously. "Take your fucking pills!" Roxas shoved them down Sora's throat.

"…Anyway…" Ventus said, obviously thinking we were all idiots. "You don't have too much further to go. They are right upstairs, but first you have to prove yourself worthy and get past me."

Suddenly a blast of energy came into the room and blinded us all. Ventus was knocked back into the wall. The dust cleared and we saw…Tifa?

"When did you get here?" I asked.

"Oh, the door was open! Some mouse lead me in, showing me a discount on rum and I figured-"

"YOU SAW IT TOO!" Zexion yelled, pointing at her with wide eyes.

"It was like that thing just _knew _my weakness. Anyway, why are you here?" she asked, tilting her head.

"We have to save Kairi and Namine!" Roxas yelled.

Tifa gasped. "Oh my God!" She kicked the wall and started walking back and forth mumbling a bunch of things. We all watched her, confused. "I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

"…Don't… understand what?" Riku dared to say.

Tifa stopped and crossed her arms. "Why is it that out of _all_ of you, the _girls_ have to be the ones in trouble? Why is it _always_ like that in _any_ story?"

"Um… M'am…" I was interrupted.

"I mean, COME ON! Haven't we ladies gotten _stronger_ over the years? Every single time, there has to be a _damsel_ in distress! This time there's two! And I bet at least one of you is in love with one of them!" She glanced at Roxas, who gulped and looked away in embarrassment.

Vexen went over to her. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but women are weaklings. They are not able to stick up for themselves in battle, or anything for that matter. Take a look at Disney. The women are always in some kind of trouble, because they don't know how to keep their legs shut."

Tifa kicked Vexen in the groin.

It didn't affect him.

She gave him an astounded look.

"I had my penis removed a long time ago." He smirked.

"That's just… disturbing…"

"And this shows that you have no ability to think for yourself either because the first thing a woman always goes for is the penis."

"FALCON PUNCH!" Tifa knocked him through the ceiling. After a few short breaths and a huge awkward silence she said, "Let's go save them."

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

I tried to keep Cloud from getting up. I didn't want him to harm those girls. No matter what he said, they would never accept him again.

Like I said, Cloud is a weak man.

I had him pinned. He struggled to get free. At this point, I wondered if I should just end it all now or… be the good guy and let him go. Either way, my problems with him would never be solved. I had to find a way out of this.

I couldn't keep my attention on Kairi and Cloud at the same time. She wasn't speaking at all. Namine was trying to get her to move from behind the desk. I heard her rummaging through desk drawers and throwing papers everywhere. Then she just screamed.

Kairi stormed all the way over to us and just glared at him.

"Tell me… the truth…"

I quickly threw Cloud against the wall, pulled out my sword and put it up against his neck, close enough to peirce the skin. One movement from him and I will slice his head off.

"TELL ME!" Kairi screamed, shaking all over. "DID YOU KILL MY MOTHER?"

Cloud gulped. He didn't know what to say. All of a sudden, the door opened. However, I kept my sword against his neck. It was the entire crew.

"Oh my God! Master!" Genesis exclaimed happily. Reno hit him.

"Idiot! This is serious!"

"Kairi!" Tifa noticed her, but didn't want to step any closer. Kairi was focused on her father.

"If he won't talk… just kill him…" Kairi finally said. Namine gasped and ran over to her sister, still trying to pull her away. Roxas went over and helped her drag Kairi out of the room.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

_'Why…'_

Namine, Roxas and a few others surrounded me. Namine signaled for them to go so she could be alone with me.

"Kairi… if it's true… if he really did kill our mother…"

"DON'T EVEN SAY IT!"

Namine jumped. "But… Kairi… do you really think that killing him will solve our problems? It won't bring mom back…"

"I want him to burn in Hell…"

"Killing your daddy won't solve anything." Sora appeared. Namine tried to shoo him away, but he didn't listen. He kneeled down in front of me and stared directly into my eyes. "You're crying."

"Um… no shit."

He blinked a few times but then shook his head. "Come on, you can't be like that."

I knew Sora was too dumb to understand, but that didn't stop me from wanting to punch him at the moment.

He walked down to the end of the hall. "Hey! Kairi!" He yelled. I didn't answer, so he called again. "Kaaaiiiirrrriiiiii!"

"WHAT?"

"I found a really cool key!"

"ARGH!" I stormed off.

o.o.o

_Sora's POV_

I wonder what this thing does!

"It gives you _magical_ _powers_!" said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw a mouse. He winked and gave me a thumbs up. "Use it!"

The mouse then disappeared.

I held the huge key in my hand and just stared at it confusedly for a while. I looked at the door behind me and tried to stick it into the keyhole.

"Aww… too big…" I sighed. "I guess this thing is useless. Oh well." I threw the key on the ground and headed back towards Cloud's office. All of a sudden, the key appeared right back into my hand.

"Huh? Go away!" I threw it to the other side of the room and ran. However, the key just continued to appear.

"Maybe… there's a purpose…"

o.o.o

_Roxas' POV_

Cloud had fought his way out from under Sephiroth's sword and was fighting back.

"I never realized how big this office was." Vexen said, noticing that we all actually fit inside AND there was enough room to battle. Books flew off of the shelves and came at us like dodgeballs. Sephiroth didn't want any of us to get involved, but he seemed like he really needed us.

"We've got to help him!" Tidus called out.

"Then allow me!" Vexen stepped forward. "Axel, go!"

"No!" Sephiroth yelled but was knocked into the wall.

Axel jumped up and striked Cloud, leaving a huge scar on his face. Just as Cloud was about to make his move, Axel suddenly stops.

"W-What's wrong with him?" I gasped, watching as Axel began to sprout electricity.

"WINDOWS HAS PERFORMED AN ILLEGAL OPERATION AND WILL NOW SHUT DOWN." Axel stopped moving completely and fell to the ground. Cloud just stared and kicked him out of the way. Sephiroth then charged at him. They began swordfighting.

"WHAT?" Vexen's eye twitched. I ran over to Axel.

"Axel! Axel… wake up! AXEL!" I turned to Vexen. "None of this would've happened if you would've just CHANGED HIM BACK!"

"Roxas, watch out!" Namine yelled, pointing above me.

"Huh? What the hell?" All of a sudden, Axel stood up and guarded me from getting hit. He then grabbed my arm and rushed me out of there. "Come on, guys!"

"Yeah!" Sephiroth agreed. "Get… out!"

"A-Axel… you're back!" I hugged my best friend to death.

Vexen stood there, completely confused. "Dammit! I failed once again!" He looked over at Riku for a while.

"What?" Riku raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. There's just something about you that I recognize."

"Whatever…" Riku noticed Sora walking over in the distance and went over to him. "Hey, what's that?"

"A humungous key that won't leave me alone." He played with it but then got bored and dropped it. It just went right back to his hand.

"It has really bad abandonment issues." Sora went back to the group.

o.o.o

_Cloud's POV_

I won't give in to my worst enemy…

He tore my life apart and now it's my turn…

"ARGH!" I kicked him the face, punched his stomach as hard as I could and then did another dropkick making him smash into the ground. "You've gotten weaker over the years, haven't you?"

Sephiroth lifted himself up and brushed himself off. "Me, or you? Who's the one crying inside?"

"You're _all talk_, aren't you?" I threw a knife in his direction but missed. Sephiroth was too quick for me.

"Those girls _hate_ you. First you killed their mother, then you abandoned your children. What's left for you? You _really_ think that they'll forgive you? Not a _chance_."

"I did NOT kill my wife!" I yelled.

But…

…I knew…

I knew the truth…

o.o.o

**A/N:** One chapter left!

I'm so excited to finish this, so I'll be updating soon.  
But the more reviews, the sooner I update. (smile)

**Review!**

o.o.o

_Zexion's corner_

**Zexion:** I have a feeling that something really bad will happen… but I just don't know what…  
**Demyx: **Zexion, have you ever wondered what your stripper name would be?  
**Zexion:** What the hell are you talking about?  
**Demyx:** I was taking this quiz on Facebook, and it said my stripper name was Lexi Wetcocker.  
**Zexion: **Um… okay, put my name in.  
**Demyx:** Okay. (waits)  
_Demyx busts out laughing._  
**Zexion:** What? Let me see! What is it?  
_Zexion is silent for a few moments._  
**Zexion:** ETERNITY?


	17. Final

**Chapter 17**

_Final_

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

Aerith…

She's the reason I've been alive all of these years…

She's the reason I bought a mansion and let those kids stay with me.

I wanted to help them…

_Flashback_

I asked Aerith out for lunch. I knew it was wrong of me to do it, but I just couldn't stand to see this woman in so much pain. Just because I was her therapist… didn't mean that I couldn't be her friend… right?

She looked absolutely gorgeous in her purple knee-length dress and perfectly matching accessories and makeup. If her husband knew where she was today, well… let's just not go there.

Aerith felt really uneasy for being here with me and was always looking over her shoulder. I tried to distract her by asking about her children, not her husband. If there was one thing Aerith loved, it was talking about those beautiful little girls of hers.

"Kairi just started pre-school and Namine will join her next year."

However, whenever she talked about her children, somehow her husband always had to come into the picture.

"I know we're not in a session right now… but…" Aerith put down her fork and put her hands into her lap. "As friends… could we just… talk?"

Friends… right…

"Of course. I'm always happy to listen."

"I think… I'm going to divorce my husband… but… I'm afraid of him."

"Afraid of him?" She had never mentioned anything like this to me before.

"He… started drinking a lot. He stopped listening. It's amazing how he keeps his family life so private… but… at home… it's just… hell…"

"Has he… done anything to you?" By anything I meant…

Aerith didn't respond, but 'yes' was printed all over her face.

"WHAT?" I stood up. Everyone looked over at us. Clearing my throat and trying to calm down, I sat back down quietly. This was not the place to talk about this.

But my blood was boiling…

How could this man… this… beast… do such a thing?

"Please don't tell anyone…" Aerith pleaded. "I can handle it… just as long as he doesn't hurt my children… I mean… he hasn't done anything to them or around them… but…"

"Aerith… you have to take care of yourself…" I wanted to hold her.

After lunch I we walked back to my office. She took a seat on the couch.

"I just… can't be with him anymore… I can't…" She busted into tears.

This woman made me weak all over. I couldn't stand to see her cry. I went over to her and hugged her tightly.

"Seph… Sephiroth…"

"Can we just stay like this for a while?"

I loved her.

o.o.o

_Cloud's POV_  
(Flashback)

"Daddy, can you push me on the swing?" asked my daughter, Kairi.

"Of course, sweetheart." I began pushing the swing. She laughed and urged me to push her higher.

"Weee! This is fun!"

_Was she really my daughter?_

"Dinner is ready!" Aerith called from the back porch. Kairi cheered and jumped off of the swing and started running towards the house.

I came inside. Aerith had set the table up extra nicely as if this was some formal event. Kairi and Namine sat down at the table and waited to be served. Aerith put the huge pot of lasagna onto the table.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" Aerith asked, noticing that I was still standing.

"Yeah."

"Mommy, mommy! It looks so good!" Namine said happily.

"Namine, dear, put your hands down and wait until everyone gets food before you start eating." Aerith gave her that warm smile she always had.

Why was tonight so special?

"I'll have a beer." I told her as she set drinks down. I could feel tension from her after I said that, but the kids didn't notice anything.

We all ate, mostly in silence. Aerith talked about her day; nothing new. She asked about my day, I said it was fine.

We tried not to 'fight' in front of the kids, but after dinner was finished Aerith seemed really upset. I decided to ignore it and went to watch TV, cracking open a bottle of vodka.

"Did you _forget_?" Aerith asked, sitting on the couch near me.

"Forget what?"

"Oh God, are you drunk?"

"So what?"

"I can't believe you forgot our own anniversary…" She marched out of the room.

"I… didn't forget! See, you just reminded me!" I fell asleep right there.

A few days later, I had a day off. The children were at school and I didn't know where Aerith was. She finally came home around two. She was dressed up like she went on a date or something; she didn't have any friends to go out with so that had to be the only possibility.

"Where have you been?" I yelled. She just walked right past me. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Don't you _dare_ walk away—"

"STOP IT!" Aerith screamed. "I can't take this anymore…"

"Where did you go? Tell me!"

"I went to the therapist… because… I hate you!"

"Why are you going to spend _my_ money on a therapist? What do you need help with? Are you mental?"

"You will never understand me… I'm taking my kids… and… I'm leaving!"

I smacked her across the face. She looked at me with teary eyes. Suddenly she grabbed her purse and ran for the door. I grabbed her and swung her around, forcefully trying to kiss her. She rammed her heel into my foot and then ran again.

"Oh… and by the way… I love someone else!"

"WHAT?" I hopped on one foot.

"Burn in Hell!"

"You won't leave!" I ignored the pain and went after her. I didn't know what was coming over me.

"Leave me alone!" She cried, trying to unlock the car door. I caught up to her and covered her mouth, then dragged her inside. I threw her onto the floor and stood over her.

"What… did you say?"

"Cloud… stop it!"

"So you're in love with someone else…" I took deep breaths. "Who is it?"

She didn't respond.

"DAMN IT, WHO?"

"None of your business!"

"None… of my… business?"

Aerith covered her head and cowered on the floor. I reached for the knife that was laying on the counter.

"I… am your husband… Aerith… I believe… it is my… right to know…" I couldn't control myself now. I kneeled down next to her and put the knife up against her neck. "Now I'm going to ask again… who is it?"

"Se—Seph…"

I didn't let her finish.

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV (Present)_

"You're the reason she's dead, Cloud!" I yelled from across the room. "It's your fault! Just give up already!"

"I may have given up on my family once… but I won't! My daughters did not deserve what was—" I kicked Cloud in the face.

"Why do you feel so _sorry_ for them all of a sudden?" Sora stood up.

"Sora, what are you doing?" I yelled. "Someone, get him!"

"I did some research on you, mister." He grinned. "You're not a very nice man."

"What the hell is this kid talking about?" Cloud stepped towards Sora. Sora pulled out a huge key-like thing and pointed it at him.

"I know you killed Kairi's mommy. I know you planned to blame Sephiroth for that. I know you don't give a DAMN about Kairi and Namine… you only want them back because everyone keeps asking why you're single and what happened to your wife! But no… you kept it hidden by covering it up with your money or whatever… you're the worst of worst! You only want to look good to the public!"

"Sora…" Kairi couldn't believe him.

"Do you guys seriously believe this crap? I'm not the brightest crayon in the tree but at least I know when someone is lying!"

Everyone was astonished.

"Crayons don't… come from trees… Sora…" Zexion stated.

"Um, DUH! My point is, this guy has to be punished! Now… I'm not sure why this big key chose me, but the little mouse told me to use it so I will!"

"Sora… what the hell are you doing?"

"Argh… so annoying!" Cloud charged at Sora. My eyes widened.

"SORA!"

A huge flash of light knocked Cloud out of the window. Glass shattered everywhere. Everyone covered theirselves and screamed.

"What's happening!" Namine yelled, holding onto her sister.

Once the light disappeared, I was the first to look up. Sora was on the ground, unconscious; the key lay next to him. I rushed over to him, picked him up and shook him.

"Hey, kiddo! Wake up… wake up!" I was frantic. I couldn't stand to lose a child of mine, even if he wasn't really my child and just some kid I picked up off the street but he WAS my child regardless… okay, Sephiroth… calm down… he's fine…

"Sora…?" Kairi crawled over to us. "Sephiroth… is he…?"

"That blast of energy could've been too much for him…"

Kairi gasped. "Sora! Sora, please don't leave me… please wake up! Sora!"

The kid squirmed in my arms and opened his eyes. I was so overcome with joy that I hugged the little rascal to death.

"Ahh!" Sora jumped out of my arms. "Hey… what happened? Why were you hugging me just then? Could it be that… you really _do_ love me, Sephiroth?"

"Oh… shut up…" I mumbled.

"YAY!" Sora tackled me to the ground. "I love you too!"

"Um… guys…" Genesis was standing at the window. He pointed downwards. Everyone crowded around to see.

Cloud lay there, on the ground. Blood was coming from his skull.

"What happened? Let me see!" Namine pushed past everyone. Once she saw, she nearly fainted.

Kairi wasn't sure what to think of it either. She just stood there quietly.

"I think it's time to go home."

"Can I take my new toy?" Sora asked. I grabbed him.

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

So… that's that.

I may have wanted my father to die, but actually seeing him dead just changed everything.

I'm not a completely heartless person…

Nobody spoke on the way home, unless you count Sora, well… he's just dumb so he doesn't count.

"Dude… you seriously don't remember what happened?" Riku asked.

"Nope… why is everyone so sad?" Sora looked around.

"Sora…" I went over to him and sat down. "Thank you."

The boy gave me a confused look. I then proceeded to hug him.

"Um… Kairi?"

"I love you, kiddo."

"Whoa… you… you love me… too?"

"Not like _that_… don't get any ideas. You're like a best friend to me. No… like a brother."

"After all this time… that's all you think of me?"

I knew that boy liked me, but hey… you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"PHEW!" Sora said, relieved. I raised an eyebrow.

"I think having a girlfriend is the worst thing in the world. You have to listen to their problems, then be able _solve_ their problems, then _be there_ even after you've solved their problems, and if you can't solve their problems—"

I kissed his cheek to shut him up. Sora went completely red.

"You never make any sense."

I guess I could accept the fact that my father has died, that just meant that he would never be able to harm me, Namine or anyone else I care for. Even though my mother is gone, I still have great memories of her and I will always keep those in my heart. And now, with this new family, I feel wanted and accepted for who I am and the sky is the only limit. Everything happens for a reason, I suppose.

o.o.o

_Namine's POV_

A few months have passed. Everyone was settled back into the mansion and things were proceeding as normal. Sephiroth made Kairi and I do more chores around the house, but we weren't exactly maids.

I was helping Sora repaint his room. After many pleads to the 'Chief,' he was finally able to do it. A few others were 'dragged' into this, such as Kairi, Riku, Roxas and Axel.

"I want this wall to be blue, this wall can be green, this wall can be purple… and…" Sora scratched his chin. "That wall can be… pink!"

"Why the hell would you want a pink wall?" Riku asked.

"It brings out my feminine side. To tell the truth…" Sora cleared his throat. "I was always so confused before, never understanding anything around me, not even why I was alive. College opened my eyes and made me realize why I am here! Never did I truly realize my Raison d'être until now! This is what I'm supposed to do with my life! This is my rationale! This is my calling!" Sora picked up the pink paint bucket and began throwing paint at the wall.

"When did you go to college?" Riku asked. Sora ignored him.

"Abstraction is the greatest method for an artist to truly articulate his innermost emotions! This is how I release them! Liberating myself and letting out my dreams, my fears, my hate, everything! And now...I express my excitement!" Sora throws paint and it lands on Axel.

"It's beautiful…" Sora said.

"Moron…"

"So, Kairi…" I looked at her, "any chance for Dumbo over here?"

Kairi smiled. "Not at all."

"What about me?" Roxas appeared next to me. Before I could respond, he kissed me.

"R-Roxas…" I blushed severely.

"Namine, any chance?"

I was so nervous I fainted.

"Come on! Banzai, banzai!" Sora yelled. Everyone ignored him.

o.o.o

_Genesis' POV_

"Look what I made for you, Sir!" I set a huge apple pie on my Master's desk.

"Did you _really_ make this, or did you ask someone else to?"

"Um… _regardless_… It's for you!"

"Thank you, Genesis. You may leave now."

"Oh… don't you look snazzy!" I noticed he was dressed in a tuxedo. "Where are you going?"

"To a funeral."

"W-what?"

"Just kidding. I'm going on a date."

"D-D-D-Date?"

The doorbell rang.

"Could you get that?" Sephiroth asked. "That must be her."

Um… Sir… might I suggest that…"

"Suggest what?"

All of a sudden, a large black wing sprouted out of my back. Sephiroth stared at me, amazed.

"You're finally growing up! Now leave!"

I cried all the way down the stairs.

o.o.o

_Marluxia's POV_

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that Sephiroth is making me move out of the house and start my own life! Just because I'm thirty-five years old…

"Um, sir… this lady is waiting for her haircut…"

I looked over to see a very pissed off old lady. "Oh for goodness sakes, girlfriend… I'm having a crisis here!"

"I don't care about your midlife crisis!" She began whacking me with her cane. "Now cut my hair before I beat your ass!"

"M-Midlife?" I tried dodging her attacks.

"Are you a man or woman? I don't care! Just cut my hair!"

I gasped. Just as I was about to kill her, my co-worker Selphie stopped me.

"Calm down, sir. She doesn't have much longer…" She whispered.

"ARGH! THAT'S IT! I QUIT! I'M GOING TO SPAIN TO LIVE WITH MY LOVER, MIGUEL!"

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

I'm not sure why, but I briefly dated a girl named Eternity.

_Flashback_

"I'm sorry, Eternity… but I just don't feel like this relationship is going anywhere. Actually, I don't feel anything at all." I said. The skinny girl that wasn't anorexic but was just really skinny looked at me with hurtful eyes.

"But I lovz u! I thoughtz weed be 2gether 4eva!"

"Right… whatever. Truth is, you get on my nerves and I can never understand anything you say. So um… go cry sexily or something."

"OMG! #%$ U! I DON'T CAR ANYMORE!" Eternity ran off.

One week of my life, wasted.

_End of Flashback_

Sora, Kairi and a few others were bugging me in the library. I was looking through a very interesting book I found in Cloud's office.

"So if I just write down a person's name and picture their face… they would—"

"Hey guys!" Olette appeared with some army brat and a fat kid. "I finally found friends!"

"Whoa!" Sora jumped over to them. "Hey guys! Nice to meet you!"

I stood up. I really wanted to see if this thing worked.

"This is Pence, and this is Hayner!" Olette said happily.

"Um… how do you spell that?" I asked.

"What?" Olette asked. "Why?"

"Just for… memo."

They spelled out their names for me. I wrote them down on separate pages.

"Anyway… you have _no idea_ how happy I am to finally have some friends. We've been hanging out every day now!"

"Yeah, Olette is really awesome." Hayner said.

"Really? Because I thought she was dead." Sora said. Kairi smacked him.

Argh, I guess this book is a fake. And here I thought it could really—

Suddenly, Hayner and Pence both clutched their chests and fell to the floor. Olette screamed as I watched in awe.

"Are you guys okay? Hey! What's wrong?" Olette panicked. They stopped moving.

"I take it the Death Note worked, then?" I said aloud. I looked through the book again. Olette faced me.

"You… killed… my… friends…"

"Whoa… calm down, honey. I was only trying this thing out. I didn't think it would actually—"

"THAT'S IT! I've had ENOUGH of you! All you've ever done is push me around and abuse me… well NOT ANYMORE! NOW YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH!" Olette grabbed Sora's Keyblade and thrust it through my chest. I stopped breathing and fell to the ground.

o.o.o

_(A few days later)  
Kairi's POV_

So Zexion lived; he _woke up_ about thirty minutes later saying that he didn't die because he didn't have a heart. Everything went back to normal, well except for Olette who had very deep therapy sessions with Sephiroth about everything that had been going on in her life. Sephiroth decided to send her to a foster home where he believed she would be loved and accepted.

In the meantime, Riku, Squall, Marluxia and Reno were preparing to move out. Sephiroth said they were becoming too old to keep depending on his care and insisted they left. Marluxia whined about it for a while.

"He must hate me!"

"No he doesn't." Riku said, putting his suitcase down on the floor. "You're thir—"

"Stop! Would you guys just _stop_ reminding me of my age?" Marluxia shushed him.

"Whoa, you're older than I am." Reno snickered.

Sora ran into the room. "RIKU… YOU'RE LEAVING?"

"Um… yeah."

"Wait a minute…" Namine looked over at Genesis. "Why are you still staying here? Aren't you old too?"

"What do you mean by that?" Genesis hissed. "I… will stay here and help my Master whenever he needs it. Actually… I've come to a conclusion. I want to become just like him. I want to be a therapist."

Everyone busted out laughing.

"Shouldn't you get some help first?" Riku was rolling.

"You know you have to go to school for that…" I said. "The closest school is 70 miles away. You really expect to still live here?"

Genesis rolled his eyes. They landed on Zack.

"Zack! You're back!" Tidus exclaimed.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sephiroth asked.

Zack took deep breaths and pointed to Genesis. "That bastard shoved me in a box!"

Sephiroth glared at him.

"I THOUGHT HE WAS GETTING IN MY WAY!" Genesis ran off.

Namine and I went up to Sephiroth. "We just wanted to… thank you so much for taking care of us…" I started. "And… we don't mind that you… were in love with our mother."

"Thanks girls. But it's all over now."

"So…" Namine hesitated, "…are you going to send us back to live with Tifa?"

"I thought about it, but actually…" He turned. "Honey!"

"Coming dear!" Tifa came out in a beautiful black dress and took Sephiroth's hand.

"Actually, we're thinking about getting married."

"WHAT?" Namine fainted.

"Geeze, how many times is she going to faint like this?" Roxas went to her aid.

Somehow, I was okay with this.

"She's over her alcoholic addiction." Sephiroth grinned.

"All thanks to you!" Tifa laughed. "He's a really… _really_ good therapist. He's also really good at—"

"Okay, honey… that's enough." Sephiroth cut her off.

"I'll be waiting in the car!" She ran out the door.

Sephiroth turned to Riku, Squall, Marluxia and Reno. "I've paid for the first two months of rent so you guys can get settled in. After those two months are up, you're on your own."

"Yes sir." Riku, Squall and Reno said.

"And make sure to keep in touch." I said. "We'll all miss you."

Riku came up to me and hugged me. "My offer still stands, babe."

"Eww… we're practically brother and sister…"

"Not by blood." He winked and walked off.

"Wait, why is Riku moving out, anyway?" Roxas asked. "Isn't he our age?"

"Riku asked to move out. He wants to be independent." Sephiroth stated. "With that said, I'll be going on my date now. Sora, you're in charge."

"W-What?" Everyone gave Sephiroth an astonished look, even Sora.

"Why me?"

"Yeah, why him?" Roxas yelled.

"Trust me on this." Sephiroth left.

o.o.o

_Sephiroth's POV_

As I was walking out of the house, Demyx showed up.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Oh… I came to see… Zexion."

"He's inside. Go on."

Sometimes I really don't understand these kids. Despite being the top therapist, there are so many things they've taught and helped me with.

I love them.

o.o.o

_Zexion's POV_

"Zexion! Your _boyfriend_ is here!" Kairi called from the other room.

"What?" I ran to find Demyx, standing there with a box.

"Hey…"

We went outside to the pool area where we could talk in private.

"Here. I have some of your CDs. I just wanted to give them back." Demyx handed the box to me. "I also have your swimming trunks… you left them behind that one day…"

"Oh…"

"And… I'd also like to apologize… for running away."

My heart was racing. Did he really come back for me? I've missed him all this time and I was just starting to accept my feelings for him…

"That's all. See you, man."

"W-What?" I was speechless. "Are you… serious?"

"Yup." He walked off.

"YOU BASTARD!"

o.o.o

_Kairi's POV_

As for Tidus, Axel, Seifer and Terra, they all decided to stay in the house for another year. Namine and I will stay too. She seems pretty happy here, especially with Roxas. As for me, I'm sure my guy is out there somewhere.

"Okay! Since I'm in charge… um…" Sora was never the assertive type, but he sure was cute for trying. "go clean your rooms!" Everyone ignored him and walked off. Namine, Roxas, Axel and I stayed behind.

"You know, I'm really glad I met you two on the street that day." I said to Roxas and Sora. "Who knows where we would be now if we hadn't."

"Probably pregnant." Axel said. Namine and I glared at him.

"Well it doesn't look like it will happen to _you_ any time soon, but Namine…" Axel winked.

"What? No way! I want to wait until I'm married."

"Since when did _that_ ever work out for anyone?" Sora sighed and walked off.

"He never ceases to amaze me…" Namine said.

"So Namine… you _really_ want to wait until you're married…?" She and Roxas went the other way, leaving me with Axel.

"So… do you miss your father?" He asked.

"A very small part of me does, but I'm glad he's not here anymore."

"Still hate him?"

"Of course."

"Yeah well… you can't hold a grudge forever. Move on. There's nothing you can do about it now." Axel patted me on the back and left.

o.o.o

That night we all gathered around the table. Sephiroth came back early from his date just to be with us.

"It's been crazy, but we survived. No matter what happens now, take everything you've learned and appreciate it." Sephiroth said. "A few of you are about to go your separate ways. Pretty soon, all of you will leave. Nobody knows the future, but let me say this. I will always love you guys."

"And girls!" Sora pointed to Namine and I.

"And girls." Sephiroth sighed. "By the way, I have an announcement to make."

We all listened in on what he was going to say.

"I'm quitting the therapy business… and…" he paused. "everyone but the ones that are leaving us… are moving."

"Moving? Where?" Axel asked.

"I'm not telling you. I want everyone to be ready to leave by this Friday."

"So… it's not over?" Seifer groaned.

"Not quite." Sephiroth smiled. Everyone proceeded to eat their dinner.

Whatever he had in store for us, I'm sure it was going to be one hell of a ride.

o.o.o

**The End**

o.o.o

**A/N:** Oh my gosh, finally finished! I'm not sure when, but if for some reason you didn't get the hint, there will be a sequel somewhere in the near future. I hope everyone enjoyed this story, despite the long breaks in between updates. I've really enjoyed writing it. (And I made this chapter super long!) I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed and I hope you guys keep reviewing. With that said, I'll take my leave. –Bows-

o.o.o


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